Something My Eyes Once Told Me
by holler4mydoller
Summary: This is an AU! Fitz is a Writer and Liv is an artist. Fitz is in search of something in life, something new and wonderful to help fuel his imagination and light a fire under him for an up and coming book deadline. Could Liv be that something?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! So this is an AU. Fitz is a writer searching for new inspiration and Liv is an artist who just might be the breath of fresh air that Fitz needs. This popped in my head while I was trying to write the next chapter of An argument Forgotten, oh well. Hopefully I'll be able to update that one soon. Reviews are always welcome! **

**I don't own Scandal in any capacity!**

* * *

Eight years. It had been eight long years to the day that his last book had been published. Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III had written a number of books, nine to be exact, and all had been on the NY Times best seller list for several weeks and won numerous awards. He was considered one of the best authors of his time and most of his books had been deemed as modern classics. But there seemed to be nothing left in him. He seemed to have lost his creative fire. Every time he wrote anything now a day it was drab and lifeless. There was no spark and no fire like his previous books contained.

Writing had never been a struggle for him. He was always able to whip up a story and make it seem like a well written masterpiece. He was unbelievably gifted with a pen and yet he could come up with nothing. He would spend his days writing pages and pages and pages of material. Countless outlines, drafts, plots, and fictional characters later he still had nothing of substance to offer. For seven long years it had been like this and throughout those years he continuously searched for a muse. He had never needed one but his creative mind seemed to be out of sorts.

After trying, and failing miserably, to find some sort of lasting muse in the states, he decided it was time to travel and see the world. The goal was to taste new things, meet new people, and learn about different cultures first hand as well as learning about the different languages they spoke. He had gone through all of South America without so much as a new idea popping into his head, a good portion of Africa which lead to some new plot lines but nothing that was riveting enough to spark enough interest to write a book about, and now he was in Europe making his way around. England, France, Italy, and now he was in Spain in a little café on the outskirts of the city of Barcelona. He had only been in Spain for a day and was planning on spending a good deal of time in this beautiful city. He had always loved the architecture, the spirit of the people, the art, and the literature that came from here so he figured this would be the place to hopefully fuel his fire.

Sitting at a table outside of the café, he waited. The sun was beaming, it was early morning and many people were out on the street. He watched as cars flew by, the bikers weave in and out of people and cars, the pedestrians walking to their destinations, the birds flying around, and smelled the wafting aroma of Spanish coffee that filled the air.

What was he waiting for? He didn't know. But something in him, deep inside of him, told him to wait for a while. To sit there and take in everything that was going on.

* * *

"This is Olivia Pope." She said slightly groggy and annoyed as she answered her phone. It was 9 a.m. and she had been receiving phone calls non-stop for the past two days. Olivia Pope was one of the most famous artists of the 21st century. At the age of 33 she had been deemed the modern day Rembrandt with her etchings and paintings depicting the realities of today's iconic events. Her most recent works were portraits of some of the most iconic figures in society today. She had done the portraits of former presidents, noble prize winners, and world leaders. She did a mini showing less than 72 hours ago in Barcelona and was constantly getting calls from possible buyers.

"Hey, Liv! I hear you were a big hit at your showing. How many outrageous offers have you gotten in that last two days?" It was Harrison. Harrison Wright was her right hand man and best friend. They had known each other for years as they grew up in the same town in Boston and attended the same prep schools.

"Thirteen. I have had thirteen ridiculous offers that were somewhere in the ballpark of eight figures. I don't understand why people want to pay so much for my art. I didn't get into this for the money. I love art and it makes me so happy to paint and draw and get dirty playing with colors and massive canvases." Olivia knew she was a brilliant artist and never had an issue showing off her talents but she never wanted to do this for the money. She was born into wealth and had never wanted for anything, her parents made sure of that. She and her little sister Frankie were not spoiled in the least; they learned the value of a dollar at a very young age working and helping their parents, who were both lawyers and owned their own family practice, during the summer as assistants. She didn't need the money. She was well off on her own, selling paintings early on in her illustrious career and saving as much of it as possible, only splurging on her beautiful two story loft apartment. The thought of selling her art really tugged at her soul and she hated to part with most of it but she did what she had to do, selling some but keeping a bulk of it. Most of her art stayed in galleries throughout Europe but her favorite pieces were on display in her loft that she purchased right outside of the city.

"Liv, you know you don't have to sell you work, although I don't understand why you won't. There is nothing wrong with making extra money. You could keep a portion and donate a huge chunk of it to your favorite galleries."

"Yeah, you're right I could." She said with a slight sigh. "So, Harrison," She said quickly, wanting to change the topic. "What have you been up to besides stalking my career?" She said with a slight giggle.

"Ha-ha. Well I'm actually at the airport heading to Barcelona to see my best friend who is celebrating her 34th birthday in a few weeks. I figure this is just as good a time as any to take an extended vacation."

Olivia squealed in excitement at the news of her best friend coming to see her. It had been almost a year since they had seen each other but they had Skype dates regularly.

"I can't believe you're finally coming to my side of the world! What time do you get in?" She said. Excitement pouring from her voice.

"Well considering I just Landed in London about 15 minutes ago and the flight to Spain is only about two hours…"

"You're already in London? I'm gonna kick your ass, Harrison. Why in the hell didn't you tell me you were coming sooner?" Harrison could tell that she wasn't really upset with him so he ignored her question and continued.

"I'll be there by 1 p.m. so get your ass up because I know you're still in bed. Get dressed, go grab some coffee and come to the airport and pick up your favorite person in the world. I gotta go but I'll call you when I land. Love you!" The line went dead.

"Ugh! He did not just hang up on me?" she said to herself.

Tossing her phone on the other side of her bed she threw back the comforter and slid out of bed. Walking into her bathroom, she turned on the shower and hopped in. After a fairly quick shower and shave she finished her morning routine and slid into a pair of jeans, threw on a loose fitting grey t-shirt and slid into a pair sued pumps to complete her casual look. Pulling her natural curls into a high bun and putting in her favorite diamond studs, she grabbed her keys and a few bucks from her purse, put on her favorite pair of sunglasses and made her way down the street to her favorite café.

* * *

It was now 10:30 and Fitz had been sitting at the café for about an hour and a half and nothing had sparked his interest. He was enjoying himself despite not actually doing anything. He decided to grab a morning paper that was in English and ordered a coffee while he waited for whatever he felt coming to make it's presence known. He liked the slight hustle and bustle of the streets and the wonderful interactions of the people. The city was breathtaking and all of the people were alive with passion and a will to live. He loved it. There were couples young anf old roaming around hand in hand talking, there were children playing in the park, there were street artist performing on the corner, there was life! Fitz felt strangely at home in this new place but he didn't mind.

Sitting back in his chair, he took a sip of his coffee as he gazed up the street. Only after a moment of thoughtless gazes did he catch sight of something. No, not something, someone. Removing the sunglasses he was wearing, he narrowed his eyes some so that he could make out the features of the beautiful creature walking towards the café. He didn't know why but something about her, the way she walked and carried herself made him excited. She was dressed casually and had her hair in a bun, he couldn't make out her facial features but her aura was drawing him to her. She seemed like a breath of fresh air. Something he needed, something completely new.

As she got closer he could make out her small stature and frame but he also took notice of the sway of her hips. She was texting furiously on her cell phone but was completely aware of everything going on around her. She smiled and waved to some of the older couples that walked by and even bent down to talk to a homeless guy who was sitting on the side of the street. She stayed there for a moment and then slipped some money into his hand. She smiled at him and then walked away. Who was this woman?

The closer she got, the more intrigued he became. She was less than five feet away from him and the proximity made his hands sweat with anticipation. He was actually nervous about the possibility of meeting this woman. That is if he could compose an actual sentence. What could he really do? He didn't want to seem like an idiot and just randomly say "Hi" because he would look ridiculous, right? But that's all he had. There was nothing more he could think of to do but he needed to get her attention and ask her name.

She was less than two feet away and he still didn't have a concrete plan of action. She was so close and he could feel his heart race with anticipation. Just the thought of …

"What am I doing?" He said to himself. Something in him, his logical side knew that she wasn't single. He knew it was too good to be true. She was meeting her boyfriend and they were going to have a coffee date. He should have known that a creature that beautiful could be single and even if she was, why would she fall for a man that was obviously much older than she. He didn't have a chance. Letting out a disappointed sigh he picked up his now crumpled looking newspaper and flipped it to the fine arts section hoping to read about a new art exhibit or gain information on a new book he could read to take his mind off of the beautiful woman heading his way.

Opening the newspaper, he almost choked on his coffee.

"It's her!" He said with a gasp. There she was, her picture plastered right underneath the headlines. She was wearing a white strapless gown that fit her like a glove and left almost nothing to the imagination. She was at an art gallery. He read through the headlines trying to find her name. Why hadn't her name been the first thing he saw? He needed her name.

"What's her name? Come on, come on, come… Wait." He said as he finally came across it. The name of the beautiful creature that he did not know but was determined to meet. "Olivia, Olivia Pope." He said somewhat breathlessly. Her name was like song that he would never get tired of. He gazed at the picture as if to burn the image into his memory. Her eyes were beautiful and her skin seemed to be utterly flawless, almost like the creamiest of milk chocolate. She looked like an angle in white and he wanted nothing more than to worship the ground she walked on. Why did she have this effect on him? Why was he so drawn to a woman he'd never met?

Fitz continued to stare at the picture until he heard the sound of something hitting the ground. He bent down in his seat and picked up the foreign set of keys that had fallen next to his foot and looked up at and met the eyes of the owner of those keys.

* * *

"Hi." Was all that Liv could muster when she locked eyes with the beautiful stranger sitting before her. She seemed to stop breathing at the sight of him. His eyes were grey-ish blue and she felt like they were boring into her soul. Something about him, something about the way he looked at her, the spark in his eye, tilted her completely off of her axis.

"Hi." Was the response she got. His voice was like velvet and made her stomach do flips. She took a deep breath in order to try and gain composure but that was a mistake. The scent of his cologne was intoxicating. The smell of his natural musk mixed with the scent of the cologne that wafted into her nostrils made her whole body shiver.

"Are these your keys? It's Olivia, right?" He was standing now, towering over her. She wanted to respond but her brain seemed to stop. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she was getting light headed.

Fitz could see that she was somewhat flustered and offered a sincere smile. This smile, the smallest of gestures, broke her out of her state of apparent shock and she could breathe again. Something about his smile gave her a jolt of energy, a shock to her system. She smiled back, a smile that had Fitz's knees going weak and finally spoke.

"Umm. Yes. Olivia. How did you…?"

"I was reading this morning's paper and I happened to turn to the fine arts section and there you were. I'd remember you anywhere." He said slightly taken off guard at the words that escaped his mouth. Olivia blushed at the comment.

"So, you know my name but I have yet to learn of yours." She said playfully.

"Oh, excuse my manners. My name is Fitzgerald Grant, but everyone calls me Fitz."

"Well Fitz, wait Fitzgerald Grant? I know that name. You're a writer aren't you?" She said looking at him questioningly.

"Why yes, I am. You've heard of me?"

"Yes! I love your book _Something My Eyes Once Told Me. _I've read it numerous times. It's simply brilliant." She said enthusiastically.

He was slightly taken aback. He had not expected her to say she was a fan of his books. And if she was, why that one? It was not one of his best sellers, in fact it was rated horribly but it was one of his favorite books also. The book was train of thought and had no real plot. It was how he saw things throughout the day. He'd written the book as an experiment and loved it. But why did she?

"Really? I've never gotten that before. I mean people know my work but that book is one that most have written off."

"I know. That's why I love it so much." She said with a somewhat shy smile. Now, now he was deeply intrigued.

"Miss Pope I would love to pick your brain about my book if you have a moment." He was hoping she would say yes. He needed to understand her better. He yearned to know her better.

Olivia looked at her phone and gasped. "Oh shit! Sorry. No I can't." She said in a slight panic. Fitz was taken aback and slightly confused as she spoke.

"I would love to stay but I need to run to the airport and pick up a friend. I'm already running late and he should be landing soon." Fitz shook his head in understanding and smiled a slightly defeated smile. Olivia took notice of this and reached for the pin that was in his shirt pocket. Ripping off a piece of newspaper she jotted down her number and stuffed the pin and piece of paper back in the pocket.

"Call me later and maybe we can grab a bite to eat and discuss your book and whatever else you want." She said as she turned to walk away.

"I will." Fitz said slightly surprised by her actions. Surprised, but extremely happy.

"Oh, and call me Liv. Everyone calls me Liv." She said as she turned back to get one more look at him. Giving him the once over she smiled and then bit her lip in hopeful excitement.

She hoped that he would call. She was excited for what could happen.

* * *

**Ok guys! How was it? I really like the idea of Liv being a free spirit but she has a lot of layers to her that I cannot wait to delve into! Fitz is s sweet guy but for some reason lacks self confidence when it comes to Liv. Or is it all women? We'll have to wait and see! Let me know what you think! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! So here's chapter two. Thank you for the reviews and wonderful comments. I'll try to update again sometime this week but i have mass amounts of rehearsals so it might not be until next Sunday that I update again. And as for my other stories I'm still mussing over them, trying to see where I want them to go. This one is just so easy to me, Haha! Again. reviews are welcome! **

**I Do Not Own Scandal or these characters in any capacity. **

* * *

"Harrison!" Liv yelled across the baggage claim as she saw her best friend enter the bustling area.

"Hey! Wow, you look great!" He said as he took in her tanned skin and natural curls. He'd seen her on Skype dozens of times but seeing her in person did more justice.

"Oh please I just threw this outfit together. Anyway, how was your flight?"

"It was good. I'm glad to be on the ground though. "She giggled at the comment.

"Did they feed you on the plane?"

"No. Lets go grab a bite to eat and you can fill me in on your amazing life." Liv rolled her eyes at that but smiled playfully after.

"Ok, grab your bags and we'll go to a restaurant close to my place. You are staying with me, right?" She said hopefully.

"Hell yes! I need to spend as much time with you as possible. Plus your place is on the outskirts of the city so I can relax and enjoy my vacation without all of the tourists." She smiled at him as he grabbed his bags and they headed for her car.

On their short walk they started to fill each other in on the little things that had been going on since the last time they had spoken. Harrison talked about his job and the promotion that he had just received and how he and his on again off again girlfriend were currently off again. Liv told him about her current exhibit and how the showing went last night and that she wasn't currently dating anyone. Sure she had her fair share of offers but no one held her interest. A comfortable silence fell over them as they drove the 20 minutes to the restaurant that Liv decided would be perfect for them. Getting out of the car, almost as if it was a second thought, Liv started to speak of her encounter from earlier that day.

"Oh, so I went to get coffee this morning at the café down the street from my place and guess who I ran into?" She said with a sly grin.

"I don't know, Liv. Who?" Harrison said in between laughter. He knew his best friend like the back of his hand and knew that whoever she ran into was someone she really wanted to get to "know".

Liv cut her eyes at him, knowing why he was laughing. After a moment she continued.

"Well I was walking to the café and as soon as I got there I dropped my keys on the ground. I bent down to get them but this hunk of man beat me to it. And when I say hunk I mean he is like pure sex."

"Wow, Liv. Could you be more obvious?" Harrison joked and she slapped his arm playfully.

"My point is that he's not just some random man. He's intelligent and beautiful. He's a writer and a very famous one at that. I love his work." She spoke the last part softly but it did not go unheard.

Harrison took notice of the way she worded herself. He looked her over and she gave him a confirming look.

"Wait? You mean you met the writer of that damn book that you've read like a hundred times? What's it called? _My eyes told me something, something told me my eyes…_" he joked as he held the door open for her to enter the restaurant.

"Harrison you know the name of the book, and yes. I did happen to meet the author. His name is Fitzgerald Grant but everyone calls him Fitz. His words not mine."

"Wow…" He said as they sat down at a table in the bar area. "So did you have some deep, earthshattering conversation with him over coffee?"

"Actually, no. I wasn't able to because I had to come get you, cock blocker." Harrison almost spit out his water in laughter. She giggled as he stared wide eyed at her.

"Liv!"

"You know I'm kidding. I did give him my number though. Hopefully he calls." She said honestly.

"Liv you're serious about him. I know you don't sleep around and I know you don't give out your number so you are really feeling this guy." Harrison said as he looked into his best friends eyes.

"I don't know what it is. I don't even know this man and yet I'm drawn to him. He is so intriguing to me. There is no real info on him, he doesn't do interviews, he is somewhat of a mystery but I like that about him." She said looking down at her water.

"Well if he's a smart man he'll call you. It's not easy to catch the attention of Olivia Pope." He gave her a wink and a smile.

They ordered food and a bottle of red wine and continued to catch up on each other's lives and current events.

* * *

After Olivia left the café, Fitz couldn't stop thinking about her. He decided to head back to the house he was renting that was not too far away. The house he was renting was more like a mansion. There were five bedrooms, a huge living space and kitchen. There was also a large garden and pool on the vast property and horse stables. Fitz had always been a horse man and loved the idea of being able to ride. He also loved the garden that was filled with native flowers and an abundance of red, yellow, and white roses.

Once he got back to his home away from home he decided to take a walk in the garden that was just off the back of the house. While strolling among the flowers Fitz's mind wondered to Olivia. He couldn't help but think about the fullness of her lips, her smile, or her beautiful brown eyes that gave him a sense of life. He'd never been so turned on by a woman and something about Olivia made a fire burn deep inside of him. He imagined kissing her soft skin, caressing every inch of her. He imagined how her lips felt, wanting to taste every inch of her mouth.

He was brought out of his thoughts by his cell phone.

"Hey, Cy. What's up." Cyrus Beene was Fitz's agent and had been for years. Fitz viewed Cy as a best friend and shared everything with him. Cy has been pushing Fitz to finish his book by the end of this year so that meant he only had about five months to write a draft for his publisher Sally.

"How's the book coming? Please tell me I don't need to fly to Barcelona and chain you to your desk so you can finish this damn book. Sally is down my throat about you and this book and how she doesn't have time to wait for you. If you don't get your book in by December she's probably going to drop you and no one is going to want to pick you up because you've done nothing for the past eight years!" Cy said somewhat annoyed. Fitz let out a heavy sigh at this. He hated being rushed and whatever happened would happen in due time. He hoped something would spark his interest in writing again but at the moment the only thing on his mind was Liv.

" Look, Cy. I'm working on it! I just got here and at the moment I'm getting acquainted with the city. Tonight I'm going on a date with a beautiful artist, well hopefully, and I'm sure that'll spark something." He said with a hint of mischief in his voice that did not go unnoticed by Cyrus. He scoffed into the phone and took a deep sigh.

"Damn it, Fitz. I don't care if you get your rocks off tonight but if you don't tell me you've at least started writing a goddamn book within the next three weeks, so help me…"

"Cy! I got it under control. Don't stress about it because you know you're getting up there and I don't need you having a heart attack."

"Just write a damn book, Fitz." The line went dead. Fitz chuckled at his friend and placed his phone back in his pants pocket.

With a content sigh, Fitz made his way inside of the house. It was only 2 p.m. and he wanted to call Olivia but he didn't want to rush the situation so he opted to swim a few laps before he called her. He ran upstairs into his massive master suite and changed into his swim trunks.

* * *

It was around 3:30 when Liv and Harrison finally made it back to her place. She parked her car in her usual spot and helped him with his bags before opening the door.

"Damn Liv! This place is amazing! How many rooms are there?" Harrison said wide eyed as he took in the massive space.

"There are 3 bedrooms, two massive bathrooms, two living spaces, my studio is upstairs which I also use as my room, and there is a wine cellar in the basement that is small but it gets the job done." She said smiling.

"The three bedrooms are downstairs, take your pick. The biggest is in the back of the loft and it has its own entrance so if you decide to bring a date home I don't have to know." She winked at him and he pulled her into a hug.

"You know me so well. God bless you." She laughed at him as she pulled away from him.

"So, you get settled. I'm gonna paint for a bit. Feel free to explore and there is another set of keys by the door if you decide to run around." She kissed him on the cheek and ran up the spiral staircase to her upstairs loft space.

Four hours later Liv was stripped down to her bra and panties and covered in paint. She had jazz music blaring in the background and she was so focused on her painting that she did not hear Harrison leave nor did she hear her phone ringing. Getting engulfed in her work was not something foreign to Liv and she was notorious for not showing up to events if no one pulled her out of her world. It wasn't until her playlist stopped and she need to choose another one did she notice she had missed calls. Two were from her sister, one was from an unknown number, and three were from Harrison.

She would call her sister and Harrison back a little later but the unknown number made her heart flutter. She felt like a school girl pining over the new boy and that was definitely not her. She didn't even know if it was him who called but it could have been.

She picked up the phone and called the number.

* * *

"I was beginning to think you didn't want to talk to me." Fitz said as he smiled into the phone. He'd called almost an hour ago and was wondering if he was going to have to find dinner on his own tonight.

She could hear the joking tone in his voice and smiled into the phone as she answered. "I'm sorry about that. I get so engulfed in my work sometimes that I block out everything and anyone else. I think my friend who is staying with me even abandoned all hope of getting me out tonight." She said with a small giggle.

"Well if you're working we can do this another time…"

'Oh, no. I would love to have dinner with you but…" she took a look at herself and realized that she was covered in paint and there was no way she would get it off quickly. "it might be like an hour or two. Or, I could order something and you can come over here. We can chat and I'll open a bottle of wine, it'll be great and so much more relaxing than going out on a Friday night."

Fitz liked the sound of that. He'd never been one to like going out on weekends and he really wanted to pick her brain which would be so much easier without all of the noise of a restaurant.

"I like plan B. What time should I come over?"

"How about in half an hour?"

"Sounds good to me. What's your address?"

She gave him her address and he said he'd see her soon. After hanging up she ran to her bathroom and jumped into the shower in an attempt to wash off as much of the paint and charcoal as possible. After getting if not all, most of the remnants of art off of her she dried off and quickly moisturized with her favorite vanilla scented oil. She had just slipped into a pair of black leggings and white knit oversized off the shoulder sweater when she heard a knock on her door. Lucky for her the high bun she had done earlier was still intact and she opted for no make-up so she put on some soft Spanish guitar music and headed downstairs.

"Hi." She smiled as she took in the sight of him. He was wearing jeans that had a rugged and worn look to them with a cream colored dress shirt that wasn't tucked in with three buttons undone that exposed just enough of his chest hair. His curly brown hair was brushed back but there was an unruly curl that sprang forward and gave him a boyish look.

"Hi." He smiled back at her and drank in the sight of her. She had only a little skin showing, her sweater was hanging just off of her shoulder and exposed her velvety skin. She wasn't wearing any make-up but she looked like a goddess and he wanted nothing more than to touch her. Just to see how soft she really was.

"Would you like to come in?" She said, pulling him out of his thoughts. She opened the door wider so that he could enter.

"Why thank you. You look lovely, Liv."

"Thank you. You don't look half bad yourself." She said as she closed the door behind her. "So, I have a brand new bottle of shiraz that I'm dying to try so lets order some dinner, shall we?" She walked over to the to the end table next to the large overstuffed couch in the living room and pulled out a stack of takeout menu's. "What are you in the mood for? All of these places are great so I'm good with anything."

"Well I could really go for some good pizza. You know of any places around here?"

'Actually there is one place that does have great pizza. I'll order. Make yourself at home." She said as she gestured to the couch and then disappeared into the kitchen.

An hour later the food had arrived and the first glass of wine was slowly beginning to diminish. They started with small talk, asking about the rest of their day and how they liked the food and wine. There was a comfortable silence and neither felt like they needed to rush the conversation so they slowly treaded the untraveled waters of each other's lives.

Fitz looked at Olivia and she smiled as she took a sip of her wine. They were sitting on the floor across from each other, her coffee table separating them.

"So, Liv. I've never met anyone who actually liked _Something My Eyes Once Told Me._" Olivia seemed somewhat surprised by that, she'd known that many critiques had looked down on the book but she thought that it was spectacular and the writing was so pure. It made her feel like she knew him.

''Really? I guess I can understand why critiques wouldn't approve of it. It is very different from your other books and the writing is train of thought, which doesn't go over well with many people because it can be a little overwhelming at times but I adore it. Something about the way you let everyone into your mind, the way you look at the world is fantastic to me. You're an optimist and you like to see the good things in life. There was no real sense of darkness and it intrigues me that someone who can write such dark material as you have can write something so beautifully simple and uncomplicated." She said as she looked him square in the eye as if to push him to tell her why. Why? What changed him in such a way that it changed his writing?

Fitz was quiet, going over things in his head, trying to come up with an answer to her unspoken question. Olivia took another sip of her wine and upped the ante.

"You know, I was never a fan of your writing until I read that book. You're other books seemed somewhat forced and unrealistic. There was no realness to the situations you created. Everyone was one dimensional and static. Nothing seemed to catch my attention in any of your other books, until this came into my lap."

Fitz was now utterly speechless. He had no idea how to answer this woman who had just ripped his work to shreds and yet complimented him on his most unsuccessful work to date. He was pissed at her but completely turned on by the fact that she had the balls to tell him the truth. She held nothing back and her eyes never wavered from his as she spoke, boring a hole in his soul. Downing the rest of his glass of wine and pouring another he slowly composed himself.

"Ummm. Well, Liv I can't say that I agree with you but I am biased. I do not believe that my work is one dimensional or even static and they would not have won so many prestigious awards had they been." He was looking her directly in the eyes. His jaw was tight with anger but he was still intrigued. He decided to up the ante.

"The reason that that book was so different, so surprisingly real and open to the way that I view life is because that book was written for my daughter." Olivia almost choked on her wine.

"Your daughter?" She said as she tried to compose herself. "I didn't know you have a daughter. How old is she?"

There was a shift in the atmosphere. Fitz's eyes filled with pain and he turned his head so not to look at her. He knew that if she kept looking at him he would tell her. He'd never spoken of the horrible events that took place after he finished the book. Cyrus was the only one to know a mere portion of the truth of what happened.

Olivia knew then and there what had happened. She didn't need to push on details and she wouldn't ask unless he wanted to. Her heart fell at the thought that he had to deal with so much pain.

"Fitz, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…"

"No. It's okay." He took a deep breath and turned his head to lock eyes with her. He told her everything that happened.

"When my wife Mellie found out she was pregnant we were ecstatic. Mellie and I had been going through a rough patch and were even thinking about divorce but when she told me she was pregnant my whole world changed. I knew that having a baby wouldn't solve our problems but I knew that my life would have meaning. I started writing the book when Mellie was about three months pregnant, when she started showing. She was so beautiful." A tear escaped his beautiful grey blue eyes. Olivia offered a weak smile and got up from her spot on the floor and moved to sit next to him. Taking his hand in hers there was a sense of comfort that washed over both of them as he continued.

"Everything in the book was special and intimate. I was so happy and nothing seemed to be wrong in the world. I finished the book about a week before Mellie went into labor. We were so concerned because the baby wasn't due for another two months but the doctors said they would do everything in their power to make sure she would be fine."

"15 hours. It took 15 hours of pushing, yelling, and medication to bring our little angel into the world and within 5 minutes they were both taken away from me. Mellie went into heart failure almost as soon as our little girl was born and the baby had an infection in her brain. She was seezing within the first few minutes of being born. I couldn't do anything. Mellie was hemorrhaging and they couldn't control the bleeding and with her heart failing, there was no real hope. The baby died almost as soon as Mellie did, her lungs were premature and with the seizures she was not getting oxygen to her brain. To say the least, that was the worst day of my life. After that I didn't have anything in me. Nothing to give as nothing fed my soul in order for me to write again. I took a year traveling around the US trying to run away from myself and when that didn't work out I went overseas thus my arrival to Spain yesterday, then I met you."

There was silence. He wasn't looking at her but he was no longer crying, no longer in pain from the hurt he'd carried around for years. Something about her made it easy to handle.

"I haven't told this to anyone and I don't know why but for some reason, you make it so easy to want to tell you any and everything." He said, still looking forward. Olivia couldn't believe he'd shared that with her. She'd never met a man so willing to defend his work, his legacy that he'd tell the most personal of stories to get his point across. She kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you for sharing that with me."

The kiss lingered on his cheek and he smiled a genuine smile. He suddenly felt a weight lifted off of his shoulders. He wanted to heal and had been running from the truth for so long, this one conversation started the process. Taking a deep breath he looked at her.

"I guess I really put a damper on this evening, huh?" She giggled at him as she pulled them both to standing.

"No. You haven't put a damper on anything. Since you've told me about your work I want to show you mine." She said as she pulled him up the spiral stairs into her studio.

"Wow!" He gasped into the air. "These are beautiful."

The room was filled with abstract pieces that held a special place in her soul. She'd only shown her abstract work to Harrison and her sister Frankie. No one other than those two knew how much abstract art fed her soul. She was brilliant at doing historic work and portraits but she didn't want to expose herself, these works were a part of her and she'd never be able to show them.

"You're the third person to ever see my abstract work. I don't like to share it because it feels like an invasion of privacy. My other works are fun to do and filled with historic value and are pleasing to the eye. These, however, are my soul. They describe how I feel when I create them. The emotion that is overwhelming and filling me to the brim that in order for me to move on in life I must paint it. Something about these works is dark and painful but so rich and beautiful. I like to think of them as an extension of me." She said with a shy smile. Fitz took notice of this and was completely in awe of what she does. She was brilliant and she could easily put these works out into the world but yet she kept them for herself.

"Liv, I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. I spend my days listening to what people have to say about my art when I would rather listen to the silence it creates. The thought process and the internal conversation make my work so much more fulfilling." She said as she looked into his eyes again but this time there was something there. Something that sparked between them.

There was always an attraction but this time there was a pull. Sharing their deepest feelings with each other seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back. They'd only known each other for a few hours and yet it seemed like an eternity. They were connected. There was no denying the feelings that they had for one another. No one believes in love at first sight but this was the case. There was a love there and for some reason it did not take them weeks or months to figure out, it was just there. They felt whole in each other's presence.

They continued to stare into each other's eyes. Fitz was moving closer, wanting to lessen the space between them. Olivia's breath hitched with every step he made towards her and her mouth was dry. That could have been from the copious amount of wine she drank earlier but she didn't think so. He was close now, so close that their lips were almost touching. Their chests were rising and falling in sync and there was no turning back. They were whole together and the only thing that would keep them apart would be GOD himself.

There was a pause. Neither one breathing and suddenly he pulled her flush against his body. She gasped at the feel of him. His body was hard and so very warm; she wanted nothing but to have skin to skin contact. She wanted to feel him inside of her and wanted to feel his massive arms around her as he pushed her over the edge. She was engulfed in thought and so was he. He wanted her, naked and warm, dripping wet from his efforts. He wanted to feel her from the inside and become one with her. He yearned to have her in his arms forever.

"Liv," He breathed her name against her lips and a small moan escaped from her mouth. He wanted to continue. He wanted to kiss her desperately but he wouldn't do it without invitation.

"Look at me." She was lost in a haze of desire but complied, locking eyes with this beautiful man. Knowing he was asking, willing her for permission to continue, she brought her hands to his face and pulled him down into a soft kiss that sent chills down her spine. As the kiss continued, so did the passion. Liv moved her fingers to the dark forest of curls on his head and laced her fingers through it as his hands roamed all over her body, feeling up her ass and gripping her tiny waist. They wanted each other but Fitz couldn't bring himself to take her. Not now. He'd just started to heal and didn't want to ruin things between them; his mind was taking over as he halted the passionate assault that they were having on each other.

"Fitz?" She questioned as he pulled away from her. She wanted him and her eyes were clouded with lust. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just… I don't want to rush things. I like you, Liv. I really do and I want to… I just don't want to ruin things." He was looking down at his feet. Liv knew from the bulge in his pants that he was turned on but something was holding him back. She didn't know what but she did know that he needed time.

"Ok. We'll wait. Maybe we can go on a real date first before we take things to the next level." She said as she smiled at him, taking all of his hesitation away.

"You're something else, you know that?" She shrugged at the comment and walked closer to him. Taking his hand in hers as she gazed into his eyes.

"You should go."

"I should go. Good night, Liv." He said as he kissed her softly on the lips before turning around, making his way down the stairs. She watched him as he walked to the front door. He turned around and winked at her.

"Good night. I'll call you tomorrow." He said as he closed the door into the dim streets of Barcelona.

"Good night." She whispered under her breath.

Liv stood in the doorway of her room for a moment and thought back over the events of the night. With a heavy sigh, she stripped down to her underwear, turned off the music that'd been playing for the past three hours, shut off the lights, and crawled into bed. She was not sleepy but she didn't want to be awake, not without him with her. She lay in bed for hours, going over what he'd said about his wife and daughter, how he'd not written a word since. She went over her own dark past and wondered if she should share it with him. Slowly, as she mussed over everything in her head, she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Well there you go! I hope you enjoyed. Again, please eave a review! Xoxo **


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hey guys! Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter but it's been a hell of a week for me. I should be able to update regularly now. But this chapter delves into Liv's past! You get to know how she got into art and you get introduced to her sister Frankie. I hope you like it and please leave a review! **  
_

_**I do NOT own Scandal :)**_

* * *

_Fire, there was always fire. Her childhood home engulfed in flames and there was chaos. Screaming, always screaming and tears, pain. Her heart, physically removed from her chest and lying on the cold sidewalk, a knife with a note on it. She always picks up the knife. Blood on her hands she reads the note that's attached. It's the same note, every time, no matter what. "Everyone you love will die a painful death. Death will always come to you." More screaming, her mother and father trapped in the house, burning alive, her sister she was never able to find her sister in the mass of people… running through a crowd, everyone looks so familiar but no one she can put a name to. "Frankie!" She yelled. Still running, she never stops. Then the woods would appear, dark and terrifying. She's always alone and afraid. Walking in the dark she comes across a cemetery, each headstone engraved with all of the people she'd loved and lost. A hooded figure appears and grabs her from behind. She screams but no one can hear her, no one can help her. Screaming, screaming, screaming…_

"Liv! Liv, wake up. Please wake up. Olivia!" She awoke with a start. Her vision was blurry but she could make out a figure standing over her, her breath hitched and tears started to stream down her face as her vision focused and she realized who it was.

"Harrison." She gaspd out. He climbs into bed and takes her into his arms. He's seen her like this before. It'd been years since she'd had her recurring nightmares. She would wake up screaming and crying. Her pulse racing and her eyes dilated.

"You were screaming, I just got back and all I could hear was you screaming and I thought… you scared me." He said as he held her tightly in his arms and rubbed circles into her back. Her pulse was slowly dropping down to a normal rate and she'd stopped shaking.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize… God, why is my dream back? I can't deal with this again." She cried into Harrison's chest as he continued to hold her tightly.

"It's okay, Liv. It's just a dream. Nothing bad is going to happen to you, I'll make sure of that."

* * *

He knew something was wrong with him. He didn't know how he stopped himself from ravaging her. The taste of her still lingered on his lips, the smell of her still filled his nostrils, the feel of her warm body burned into his memory. She was like a dream and he didn't want to wake up, but he had. His mind wouldn't let him take her like she was some fling. He wanted her so badly and yet wouldn't allow himself the pleasure. He sighed as he tossed and turned in bed wishing she were there with him. It was almost five a.m. and he hadn't slept a wink because his mind continued to drift to Olivia.

After a few more moments of rambling thoughts about this addicting woman he decided he should get up. There was no real hope of sleep in the near future and the sun was slowly rising. He got up and walked downstairs into the kitchen to prepare some coffee and a light breakfast. Once he'd made some toast and scrambled eggs he shuffled over to his desk. He took a sip of his coffee and aimlessly opened his laptop and when he did the blank word document that'd been staring him in the face for the past seven years was still there. He sighed lightly and bit into a piece of toast. He tapped on the keys lightly as his thoughts continued to make their way back to Olivia. Taking a bite of his eggs and then sipping on his coffee he began to wonder what would happen if he wrote all the things he was feeling for her down. What could be the harm in that? He'd be able to get out everything he thought about her, all of his feelings, his conflicts, his yearning, and no one would know. After a moment of contemplation he slowly began typing away.

_Why am I so consumed by the thought of her? I barely know her and yet everything about her seems familiar. She's like a breath of fresh air or a cold drink of water; I haven't thought about another woman in years let alone actually feel things for one. When she smiles at me my heart stops, I forget to breathe when I get close to her. She pulls me in and I can't help but hang on to every word she says. Her voice is like a whisper in the wind and her laugh. Oh, her laugh makes my soul sing. I've spent a total of, what? Four hours with this woman and I feel like I know her completely without knowing her at all._

_I'd shared my inner most secret, the thing that tears me apart almost every day and she held my hand through it all. She was by my side as I told her the truth about the most difficult time in my life. She didn't have to do that. She didn't have to listen to me and she didn't have to show me her private works. The most beautiful pieces of abstract art I've ever seen and she didn't want the world to know they existed. Why? She was brilliant and she knew that much but something prevented her from sharing with the world. Something prevented her from exposing herself. Why was she so seemingly closed off from the world?_

The words flowed freely from him as the thought of her filled every crevice of his mind.

* * *

She could never fall back asleep after her nightmares. It was almost five in the morning and she was wide awake but she needed to call her sister. She didn't want to wake her but she needed to hear her voice. She needed to know she was okay.

"Liv, it's five. Why are you calling me so early?" Frankie said, sleep coursing through her voice.

"I had another nightmare. I know, it's stupid but I just needed to hear your voice. Go back to sleep. I love you."

"Are you sure? I can come over if you want. But only if you make breakfast and a large pot of coffee." Olivia smiled at her sister's comment.

"No. I'm fine. I'll call you later and maybe we can grab a late lunch."

"Okay, Liv. Love you. Try to get some rest."

"Love you too. Bye."

Liv, although comforted by her sisters voice knew she wouldn't be able to sleep so she took out her sketch pad and a fresh piece of charcoal and etched out the events of her dream. She knew the root of her dreams but after years of therapy she'd finally been able to escape them.

_Liv was 17 and Frankie was 15 when their parents died in a horrible house fire. Liv had been out on a date and Frankie was spending the night with a few of her girlfriends who lived down the street. It was a very cold night in Boston and Evelyn and Oliver Pope had decided to light a fire and watch a movie as they waited up for their eldest daughter to get home. They fell asleep on the couch while watching the movie and a cracking piece of wood flew out of the fireplace and onto the rug that was near it. Within a matter of seconds the flames grew and the curtains caught fire. The house was engulfed in flames by the time Mr. and Mrs. Pope realized what was happening. The wood beams that were in the house collapsed and trapped them inside the house, smoke filling their lungs as they tried and failed to escape. _

_Liv and her date were driving down the street and could see the commotion, all of the fire trucks and ambulances and suddenly she felt something. He gut told her something was wrong and she knew. She jumped out of the car and ran through the crowd where she saw two body bags, her house nothing but a shell, but not her sister. She ran through the crowd looking for her and then there was screaming. So much screaming that she knew it was her. She followed them to her, wrapping her arms around her sister who was still in her pajamas, not affected by the cold because she was numb. _

_She didn't cry that night, nor did she cry during the funeral. She had to be strong for her sister but all of that stress developed into horrible nightmares. After the death of their parents they moved in with their favorite Aunt Lisa. She loved the girls like they were her own and was more that glad to take care of them. The first month after they were there is when the dreams started. Life was moving on and Liv felt nothing but love and support from her family but she'd never open up to them. She'd never tell them how she was doing, she just kept it all bottled up and one night her dreams sent chilling screams throughout the house. She had these nightmares for almost two weeks before she went to therapy. She was going through an emotional suicide; not wanting to expose her true feelings was causing her to have these horrible dreams. She'd been able to work through her issues after almost six months but it was worth it. The dreams became less and less frequent. She'd found an outlet in her art and the dreams stopped completely. _

She'd been drawing for hours, trying to work everything out in her mind. She was drawing the hooded figure, he was new to her. She'd never seen the man in her dreams before and his image stuck out in her brain. She continued to etch out his features, his nose, his lips, his hands that grabbed her, and his eyes. His eyes were familiar, very familiar.

"I know him." She continued to look at the picture, wracking her brain for a clue to who he was. She closed her eyes and tried to picture him, and then the sudden realization washed over her. She gasped as she opened her eyes.

"Fitz."

* * *

It was now almost ten in the morning, Fitz had been typing away on his computer for about five hours and his eyes were getting tired. He needed a break and after writing down all of his feelings towards Liv, how he felt about pulling away from her last night, exposing himself to her, and how frustrated he was with himself for not waiting for her to come into his life. Why did he marry Mellie and settle for a life he didn't want with a woman he didn't love. He and Mellie had been friends for years and they were both ambitious but it wasn't love. He was in love with Liv and if not love it was very strong like. He sighed as he pushed his laptop away from him. Nineteen pages of raw feelings in five hours, most of which he was sure was all very much repetitive and he would look over it later. He didn't even realize he'd written so much, that he'd actually wrote a short beautiful story, that he'd found something to write about.

Getting up from his desk, Fitz walked into his kitchen where he poured himself another cup of coffee and looked at his cell phone. He wondered if he should call Liv this early. He figured she'd either still be sleeping or working so he decided that if she didn't answer the phone he'd just leave a message. His heart sank a bit when her voicemail picked up.

"Hi. It's me, Fitz. I was just wondering if you'd like to grab lunch today? I'm sure you're busy but if you have time I would love to see you again. Okay. Bye."

He sat down his cell and took a sip of coffee. What if she didn't want to see him again because of last night? He'd pulled away from their kiss last night. It was a damn good kiss and he wanted her but he couldn't bring himself to take her. He wanted to continue, he wanted to make love to her. He was so unbelievably attracted to her, he craved her, he could still taste her on his lips but he didn't have it in him to sleep with her. He didn't want her to feel used, never that.

* * *

Liv was sitting on the counter in her kitchen talking over her dream with Harrison when he called.

"It's him." Liv said anxiously.

"Answer the phone." Harrison said has he looked over his mug at her.

"I don't know. What if…"

"Liv. Answer the phone. He likes you and you like him…"

"I just want to talk about things with Frankie before I see him again. I need to know what my dream means."

"Frankie is gonna agree with me. You know she is. So answer the phone."

"No. He'll leave a message." She said as she continued to look at her phone. They sat in silence and not ten seconds later she heard the ding of her phone. He'd left her a voicemail. She sighed and took a sip of tea.

"What are you afraid of? Just because he was in your dream doesn't mean anything. He was on your mind and from the way you described your make out session you sure as hell should have been dreaming about him. I need to use some of Fitz's skills because he has to have some serious game in order to get you."

"Harrison." Liv said as she rolled her eyes at her best friend. "I just want to know why he was in my dream. You could be right that I was just thinking about him but seriously, why him? I've dated other guys before and they have never been in my dreams let alone that particular one. He was pulling me from behind but when I turned around I saw his face. Why was he pulling me? What does he want from me?"

"Liv! You're acting like he did it in real life. He didn't do anything. Maybe that's the problem. You actually like this guy and he pulled away from you. I think your ego is getting the best of you in this situation. Did he bruise your pride a little?" He said has he ducked away from the dish rag that Liv threw at his head. Just then she got another call, this one from her sister. Frankie told her that she was heading to their favorite restaurant in the country and that she and Harrison should stop lying around and meet her for brunch. Liv agreed and they both threw on clothes and headed for the country.

45 minutes later they were sitting on the patio enjoying unlimited mimosa's at their favorite brunch spot.

"Maybe you should call your therapist?" Frankie said as she looked over her sister. Frankie was younger than Liv but she'd always been very protective of her, especially after her dreams started.

"I don't want to go through that again. She just tells me that I'm hiding my motions again and that I need to express them in my art or to the person. I know how I feel about Fitz…"

"And how do you feel about him?" Frankie said with a small smirk on her face.

"Frankie, he's beautiful and sweet and oh so very handsome and the way he kissed me just… Lets just say I like him. A lot." Liv said as she smirked to herself about the intense feelings he gave her and how much passion was in that one kiss. That smirk did not go unnoticed by her sister or Harrison.

"Damn, she's really feeling him!" Frankie said as she looked at Harrison who was laughing to himself.

"What? No. he's just…'  
"Yeah, whatever. So did he call you yet?'  
"He called her this morning but she didn't answer. She said she wanted to talk over her dream with you before she called him." Harrison said and Frankie gave him a side eye.

"She said that? She knows we're one in the same." She said before she cut her eyes back to her sister. "We always say the same thing when it comes to your love life and yet you used me as an excuse. Why don't you want to call him back?"  
"Frankie I'm scared." Liv admitted as she downed her fourth mimosa.

"What are you scared of? He's new, and great. He's obviously attracted to you so what's the hold up? After we eat you will call him. End of story."

"Ugh, fine. I'll call him." Liv said as she turned her head and looked out over the patio at the beautiful rolling hills and the small town that was just over the hill. She continued to think about her dream and wondered what would have happened if Harrison didn't wake her up. Deep in her thoughts Liv thought back on the kiss that they shared. Her lips burned and she felt a shiver go down her spine at the thought of his hands gripping her waist. She let out a heavy sigh as she brought herself out of the memory and looked back to Frankie who was staring at her with a broad smile. Liv just looked down at her phone, staring at the blinking light that indicated she had a voicemail.

"Just think of it this way. If you do get some tonight you won't be having bad dreams, you'll be having wet dreams." Harrison ducked as Frankie threw a piece of bread at his head.

"Hey! Will you two stop throwing shit at me?" he said with a thousand watt smile plastered on his face.

They laughed and continued to chat about random things and upcoming events Liv would be attending. They ordered food drank more and then ordered dessert before Liv worked up the courage to run away from them and call Fitz.

She found a large tree at the back of the property and climbed up to one of the lower branches. She'd always loved climbing trees, it gave her a sense of freedom and reminded her of her childhood. She sat there for a moment trying to take in the beautiful view. After a moment she pulled out her phone and listened to Fitz's voicemail.

She inhaled deeply and smiled at the sound of his voice. He seemed so disheartened that she hadn't answered the phone and it made her stomach clench. She felt horrible for not answering his call but there was nothing she could do but apologize.

The message was short and sweet. She quickly dialed his number and held her breath as the phone began to ring.

* * *

It'd been about four hours since he left her that voicemail. He was starting to think he blew it with her and that was slowly eating away at him. He was sitting absentmindedly on the couch in the den flipping through an old scrapbook he had of him a Mellie. They had put this one together for the baby. It had pictures of their wedding day, pictures of him and her on his book tours, them with the sonogram and even a few of them picking out things and painting the nursery. The pictures of them before the pregnancy showed a couple that was the picture of happiness and yet they were filled with plastered smiles, cold air, and lack of intimacy. Fitz was lost in the pictures as he found himself wondering about what could have been. He wondered what his life would be like had Mellie and their daughter still been alive. He knew that his little girl would have been about eight years old and she would have been beautiful like her mother. He missed her every day and would give anything to have his family back. That's all he wanted. He'd begged Mellie for a child for years and when she finally gave in and they got pregnant he was elated. He wasn't prepared to lose them, both of them in one day. He finally had the chance at a real family but it was snatched from his grasp. He wondered if he'd ever get the chance to have a family again.

His mind drifted to Olivia and he wondered what it would be like to have her as his wife and to have beautiful babies with her. His mind drifted to a place where things could happen and life was easy. Liv was everything he wanted in a woman. She was easy to talk to and caring and so full of life. She was incredibly smart and a brilliant artist and to top it all off she was gorgeous.

He wanted kids. He wanted kids with Olivia. Beautiful babies with Grant grey-blue eyes and charm but their skin would be a light toffee color. They would have their mothers pout, big full and soft lips, and her big doe shaped eyes. Their hair would be light brown and curly. Big ringlet curls that bounced as they ran through the house and played outside. He wanted so badly to have that with her. He knew it was ridiculous, they hadn't even been on a real date and yet he was thinking about marriage and kids.

"What's wrong with me? Liv and I aren't even an "us"!" he huffed as he closed the scrapbook and placed it on the coffee table in front of him. He leaned back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling. "I need to get out of this house."

He thought a walk around town would help to clear his mind, plus he was hungry as hell and he figured Liv wouldn't call him back. He allowed himself five more minutes of self-pity and then he forced himself off of the couch and ran upstairs to get ready for the day.

He'd just jumped out of the shower when his phone rang. Wiping his hands on the towel that hung oh so low on his waist he picked up his cell phone. He smiled at the name that flashed on the screen.

"Hi." He said simply when he answered.

"Hi." He could hear her smiling into the phone and that made him smile in return.

"You know, I've been thinking about you all day. I was beginning to think I'd scared you off. I hope that isn't the case."

Liv laughed lightly at that because he had in fact scared her off, but not for the reason he thinks. "No you didn't." She paused, biting her lip. "I'm sorry I didn't call you back sooner. I'm out in the country with my sister and my best friend, we just had a very long brunch."

"Really? Well then I take it you won't be home or hungry for a while?" He said somewhat sadly.

"No I won't. I'm sorry and I have an event that my sister is forcing me to go to so tonight is a bust as well."

"Don't feel bad. I think I can manage without you. "She could hear the disappointment in his voice. She wanted to spend time with him but she didn't want to drag him to this boring event. She looked over at the patio where her sister and Harrison were sitting and noticed them staring at her. She smiled and silently thanked God that she had those two in her life. They would berate her for not inviting him so she took a deep breath and asked him.

"You know, you could come as my date. You won't have me all to yourself but we can hang out and you can meet the snobs of the art society that I just so happen to be friends with and then you can take me out for drinks after because I'm sure I'll be in dire need of something stronger than champagne by the end of the night." She said with a hint of mischievousness in her voice that didn't go faze him too much.

"Sure! It'll give me a reason to pull out my very expensive suit." He said lightly.

"Hmmm… well you can pick me up at 7:30 and we'll paint the town." He noticed the change in her voice. There was a hint of sex laced in the way she spoke that had him questioning her meaning.

"I have a feeling you're going to be a handful tonight." He said. There was a hitch in his voice, he couldn't believe he was turned on by the mere sound of her sultry voice.

"You have no idea, Dr. Grant. Just be ready my good sir." She said as she hung up the phone leaving Fitz speechless on the other end of the line.

* * *

He was on time. She'd just slipped into her custom Louboutins when she heard the knock at her door. She grabbed her clutch and sauntered up to the door; taking a deep breath she opened it to greet her handsome date.

"Wow." Was all he could muster as he took in the sight of her. She was wearing a simple white strapless gown that clung to her body like a second skin. She was glowing wearing very little makeup and her hair in a simple up-do with a few loose tendrils falling on her face. She was breathtaking.

"You don't look so bad yourself Dr. Grant." She said as she looked over him. He was wearing a classic black suit that hung on him perfectly. She had on a crisp white shirt and he had three buttons undone, just enough to show off his greying chest hair. Liv thought he looked like pure sex. She smiled as she turned to lock the door.

"Damn, Liv. You're trying to kill me, aren't you?" Fitz said as he took in the amount skin that was exposed; there was basically no back to her dress. It took all of his strength not to reach out and touch her, to pull her close to him and caress every inch of her exposed skin.

She turned around and winked at him. "I take it you approve of my dress." She smiled seductively at him.

"Yes. Yes I do. I'm just glad I'll be the one on your arm tonight or else I'd be quite jealous. Not that I'm the jealous type or anything." He said smiling down at her.

"I think you might be but we will surely find out tonight. You see this event just so happens to be hosted by my ex. His name is Joaquin." Fitz raised his eyebrow at that and rubbed his chin nervously.

"Seriously?" He asked hoping it was just a joke.

"No." She said smiling. "But it was great to see you sweat for just a moment." She giggled for a moment but was stopped abruptly when she felt a massive hand grip her by her waits and pull her into the solid mass of man that was standing in front of her. She let her eyes linger on his chest for a moment and then slowly let them drift up to his piercing eyes. Her lips were slightly parted and her breath became labored.

"I knew you were going to be a handful tonight." He said as he lowered his lips to hers, not making complete contact. He was teasing her, letting the anticipation build before he took her lips fully and forcefully .One of his hands cupped her face as the other wrapped around her waist pulling her closer to him. Livs hands drifted up his arms and into his curly brown hair, letting a small moan escape from her mouth. She felt his hand leave her face and ghost over her ass before she felt him grip her butt firmly. His touch sent a shock of electricity up her spine and she gasped into his mouth. When she did he pulled away from her slightly and stared into her eyes, still holding her close to him as they both caught their breath.

"Why don't we skip this event, open up a bottle of wine and take this party up to your bedroom." Fitz said in a raspy voice that sent chills up Livs spine and a tingle through her vagina. She wanted to stay home and continue what they had started but she made a promise to her sister and she never broke a promise.

"I wish we could. I promised my sister I'd attend and she'd kill me if I didn't. Plus she wants to meet you along with Harrison. They want to meet the man who took my breath away." She said smiling at him and he raised his eyebrow.

"So you've been talking about me, to your sister. Who's Harrison?"

"Oh, he's my best friend. The one I've been talking about."

"Ah, so I guess I have a few people to impress tonight." He said as he ran his hand over her exposed back. She leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips before running her thumb over them, removing the smudged lipstick.

"You'll be fine. Now lets go. The sooner we get this over with the sooner you can take me home." She said as she pulled away from him and headed towards his Porsche Cayenne. Fitz could only stare at her swishing backside as she walked away. He didn't want to go this event anymore but he could wait. For her, he could and would do almost anything.

* * *

_**So what did you think? **_

_**Poor Liv and her nightmares! Smh**_

_**Fitz finally wrote something but he doesn't even realize that it's good. Maybe Liv will read over it and give him the approval he's seeking?**_

_**I love Frankie and Harrison together. They are a dynamic duo who are very protective of Liv. I love it! **_

_**Again, please let me know what you think! Xoxo **_


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! here's the next chapter! It's a little short but I LOVE it. There isn't much to explain but I will say that it's fun and sexy. Anyway, please Review! Xoxo**

**I Do Not Own Scandal **

* * *

Olivia and Fitz were the topic of the night at the Fine Arts Ambassadors Gala that they attended. Everyone drooled over Olivia and how fabulous she looked in her evening gown while all the women swooned over Fitz's old Hollywood look and his undeniable charm. Even Frankie and Harrison had to admit that they looked amazing together. The lovely couple spent the evening chatting it up with foreign diplomats, ambassadors, and some of the most well-known artists to date.

Olivia, although she hated how snobby many of the artists could be, didn't seem to mind the attitudes, snarky comments, and less than constructive criticism that many had to offer each other due to Fitz's presence. He made everything seem so much easier and he had a calmness about him that made her somewhat unorganized life a little easier to manage. It's almost as if he could sense her every emotion. Any time someone said something that would get under her skin, or piss her off, or make her somewhat uncomfortable he would place his hand at the small of her back and rub his thumb on the exposed skin. At first she thought he was just being handsy but then she realized how relaxing his touch was.

"We don't have to stay, you know?" He said as he grabbed two glasses of champagne. Olivia smiled at him and took a sip of her drink.

"I know. Thank you for putting up with this tonight." She said as she wrapped an arm around his waist.

"I'd do anything for you, Ms. Pope." Fitz said as he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.

"What would you say to accompanying me to my place for a real drink." Fitz said as he flashed a sly smile at her.

"Why, I would love to join you for a real drink Dr. Grant." Liv said as she winked at him making his heart skip a beat.

They made their final rounds and said goodbye to Frankie and Harrison. Within twenty minutes they were in the living room of Fitz's place drinking scotch, listening to Miles Davis, and swaying gently together.

* * *

Fitz couldn't help but be entranced by Olivia. Her big brown eyes, her high cheek bones, and her full lips that ached to be kissed made his eyes gloss over. He pulled her close, to feel the softness of her body against his.

"You are breathtaking. Simply breathtaking." Fitz said as he brought his hand up to stroke her lips with his thumb.

Her lips slightly parted at his touch and her breath caught in her throat. The way he looked at her made her senses and nerve endings go on high alert. She was in tune with his every movement and the scent of him was intoxicating. The rough callouses of his hand at the small of her back were sending shock waves through her body that were so intense that she could not help but be thankful that he was holding her because she was afraid she might actually go weak at the knees.

His eyes bore into her causing her skin blaze with intensity. She needed him to extinguish the fire that threatened to consume her.

"Fitz." was all she could manage as his lips came crashing down onto hers hungrily and all consuming. She welcomed his intensity and parted her lips to allow his tongue access. They battled and probed, searching and tasting each other as if their lives depended on it. He pulled her close as if he was trying to meld their bodies into one. She pulled him in closer, raking her fingers through his hair and grasping at the curls at the nape of his neck.

A sharp moan escaped her mouth as she felt his hard member press against her abdomen, sending a chill down her spine. Fitz couldn't control his hands. They moved all over her body and they roamed over her back and down to her plump and tight ass. He'd always been as ass man but her's took the cake. It was firm and round, not too big and not too small. He gripped it tightly and ground into her causing another moan to escape from her beautiful lips.

Just as his hands were making quick work of pulling up the hem of her dress, Liv removed her hands from his forest of unruly curls and placed them over his, halting his progress.

"Liv?" he asked slightly confused and out of breath. She didn't for a moment as she stared him in the eyes.

She removed her hands from his and cupped his face. She kissed him slowly but the kiss said a thousand words, all of the emotions she'd been holding for years. The love she longed for, the happiness she could only dream of, the hope of something lasting. She pulled away slightly, her lips still brushing against his as they took in each other's breath.

"Make love to me." Liv whispered onto his lips before he kissed her deeply. She didn't just want sex with him, she needed more. She needed the emotional connection, to feel him pour his love for her, the love that had blossomed and developed over the past two days. The love that they felt the moment they first kissed. He needed it too. Fitz was never one to sleep with women just for the sake of getting off. He could contain himself around women and had for years but something about Olivia, something about her spirit and her passion for life made him fall for her, hard. No one had ever made him feel this way. He wanted to make love to Olivia, and so he did.

* * *

Later that evening they lay tangled together in the sheets, legs intertwined. Liv was resting on his chest playing with his chest hair and listening to his heartbeat, entranced by the fact that it seemed to beat in the same rhythm as hers, as he held her close in his arms. They had been lying there in silence for a few moments, enough time for Fitz's mind to catch up on the events that occurred. The sweet sound of her moans as they escaped her mouth, the smell of her sex and the taste of it, warm honey. He licked his lips at the memory. He recalled the heavy panting and sounds of sex filling the entire house, her screams of his name at her release, and the burning sensation that still lingered on his back from her nails digging into his skin. He smiled to himself and pulled her a little closer to him.

Liv's mind and body were in a complete state of bliss. She'd been in love before but nothing this intense and when she did fall in love it was never this fast. Her last "long term" relationship had been very serious, there were talks of marriage and children but he wasn't the one. He never took time to get to know her or her work. He just assumed and the sex was good but it was nothing in comparison to Fitz. The way that Fitz would touch her body and the way he worshipped her made her aroused again. He was gentle yet firm and aggressive. He was tender and loving, caressing every inch of her body, licking every crevice. He was a very through man. She came twice before he even thought about his own release and she bit her lip at the thought of what he could do with his tongue. His penis was large and filled her to the brim. She'd gasped for air on more than one occasion when he would thrust powerfully into her, the memory sent a shiver down her spine.

"Livvy, what are you thinking about?" Fitz said through a raspy and somewhat tired voice. She smiled up at him as he pulled her further up onto his body so she was lying on top of him.

"I was just thinking about you. You're a wonderful man Fitzgerald Grant." She said as she kissed him deeply.

The kiss quickly escalated as hands roamed and the feeling of Fitz's erect member became too much for either of them to ignore. Fitz rolled over and pinned Olivia beneath him as he situated himself between her legs. He gently swept away a few stray strands of hair from her face and kissed her on the nose which caused her to giggle. She brought a hand up to his face and gently stroked his cheek as they stared at each other, taking in everything that hadn't been said.

Fitz slowly entered her and they both groaned in pleasure. He stayed there for a moment, relishing in the warmth of her. Liv started to writhe underneath him, needing the friction. She wrapped her legs tighter around him and moved her hands into his hair.

"I need you to move, babe." She said as she pulled his lips onto hers. He kissed her back, allowing her tongue to assault his. She pulled away from him slowly, as she bit his lower lip. The sensation caused him to emit a low growl and he recaptured her lips as he began to slowly trust.

His strokes were long and deep, leaving no room for more. Liv arched her body into him and threw her head back as the head of his penis continuously grazed over the bundle of nerves inside of her.

"Oh… yes. Right there. You feel so good, Fitz." She said as he continued to stroke in and out of her. It was as if he knew her body inside and out. Within moments he found her spot and her nerves were on end.

"You're so tight. Damn, Livvy." He said through gritted teeth as he shifted her legs onto his shoulders and leaned into her, causing him to go deeper.

"Fuck!" Liv screamed as he continued to thrust into her. The change in position was causing him to hit her spot directly. He would burry himself to the hilt, pressing onto her bundle of nerves, and then remove himself completely. He continued the sweet torture over and over again.

"Don't stop. Oh… Please. Please baby…" She was begging for release.

"Come for me, Livvy. Come for me, sweet baby." Fitz said as he buried his face into her neck as he sped up his thrusts.

Her orgasm took her by surprise, sending a wave of pleasure throughout her body. Her walls clamped down around Fitz's penis, constricting it, pulling his own orgasm out of him.

"I knew you were going to be a handful tonight, Ms. Pope." Fitz said as he kissed her gently on the lips. Their chests were still rising and falling heavily, neither one wanting to move from their current position. The feeling of completion coursing through their bodies, they were home.

* * *

When Olivia woke up it was still dark. The moonlight was shining through the French doors that lead to the massive balcony that was attached to the master bedroom. She smiled at the sight of the moonlit landscape, it was beautiful. She rolled over to snuggle with Fitz only to find she was alone. She sat up and searched for him in the dark. Nothing. She jumped out of bed and wrapped herself in the sheet that they'd been tangled in hours before around her body.

"Fitz?" She called as she exited the room. The lights were still on downstairs and she smelled coffee. She slowly crept downstairs and into the kitchen. He wasn't in there. She looked over at the pot of coffee and figured she'd make herself a cup. She didn't drink it often but she did like the taste of it. There were mugs hanging on a rack by the coffeemaker so she poured herself a mug full and went in search of her missing lover. She slowly walked throughout the house but couldn't find him. She called his name again.

"Fitz? Where are you?" She heard the sliding of a door and turned around to see Fitz, clad in his boxers and glasses, standing at the door that lead to the pool.

'What are you doing up, babe?" Fitz said as he walked towards her. He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Well I woke up and you weren't there so I decided to go on a man hunt." She giggled. The house was so massive that it did in fact feel like a man hunt when she went to find him. So many rooms and offices. One could easily get lost on your first visit.

"I'm sorry. I woke up and I couldn't fall back asleep. You looked so peaceful that I didn't want to wake you so I came downstairs." He said as he rubbed small circles into her back. She smiled up at him and he kissed her on her forehead.

"What were you up to outside? Mind if I join you?" She said as she pulled from his grasp.

"If you want. I'm just messing around on my laptop. Emails and such." He said as he followed her outside.

His laptop was under the cabana on the table along with a large bowl of fruit and a mug. He took her hand and intertwined their fingers as he led her around the pool and sat her in his lap once he got comfortable in the chair.

"Did you sleep well at least?" He said as she cuddled into him.

"I did. I mean, aside from being very sore, I slept great." She said with grin and Fitz smacked her on the butt.

"Ow!" She said as he rubbed her butt gently. He winked at her and slid his laptop into his line of sight.

"What are you working on?" She said as she tried to read what was written in the word document on the screen.

"Nothing, really. Just writing things down. Journaling my experiences. Being a writer again." He said with a light chuckle.

"That's amazing, Fitz! Can I read?" She said as she grabbed for his glasses.

"No!" He said as he pulled her hands away from his face "Not yet, anyway. I want it to be right when you read it." He said as he kissed her hands. She sighed, not use to being told no, and got up from his lap.

"Where are you going?" Fitz asked as he watched her circle the pool.

"Well since I can't read what you're writing I'm going to raid your fridge. Do you want breakfast? I'll make you something if you want." She said smiling at him.

"You cook? Really?" he laughed as she rolled her eyes at him.

"I'll have you know, Fitzgerald, that I happen to be an amazing chef. So if you want breakfast I suggest you quit while you're ahead." Liv said as she walked into the house.

"I'll quit only if you promise to cook in heels and an apron." Fitz said as he watched her from a distance. He didn't think she heard him until he saw the sheet that she was wrapped in fly onto one of the chairs at the dining room table by the kitchen.

"Holy shit." Fitz said to himself as he quickly got up from the cabana and ran into the house after her.

* * *

After some fun in the kitchen and a wonderful breakfast, compliments of the naked chef, Fitz and Olivia made their way upstairs. It was now almost 8 a.m. Liv jumped in the shower first then Fitz followed her. As soon as Fitz got into the shower Liv's phone it began to ring.

"Pope." She said as she answered.

"Why do you answer your phone like that? Especially when you know I'm the one who's calling?" Liv giggled at her sister.

"Because I know it pisses you off. What's up."

"I'm just reminding you that you have that meeting with the gallery owner at 10:30 and you have another meeting with the event coordination for the charity event you're hosting next month at 1. You also need to make time to sit down with me and Harrison and tell us why you aren't home and we need to know all of the details of the hot night of sex you and Fitz had." Frankie said in a serious tone that only made Liv laugh.

"You know I will. Tell Harrison I'll be home in fifteen and to clean up the mess he made. Will you be there when I get home?"

"You know it! See you soon."

Liv hung up the phone and turned to Fitz who had just got out of the shower and was wearing nothing but his towel, very low on his waits. Olivia licked her lips at the sight of him but shook her head as if to clear the thought of ripping it off of him out of her brain.

"I have a meeting in about two hours so I need to head home. You wanna throw on some pants and drop me at my place?"

"Are you gonna wear the dress from last night? Because that's a hell of a walk of shame." Liv threw a pillow at him but he ducked and it only grazed his hair.

"Hey!" Liv giggled.

"How about you give me a shirt and I'll work it out." Fitz looked at her quizzically but threw her one of his dress shirts. She put it on and buttoned it up, only leaving two buttons undone. She grabbed the chain that was in her clutch and wrapped it around her waist, tying it tight enough to show off her waist. She ran into the bathroom and patted some of her slightly smeared make up off and fixed her tousled hair before running back into the bedroom and slipping into her heels.

"There, ready." She said as she looked over at Fitz who was just standing there in awe.

"How did you do that?" Fitz asked, slightly dumbfounded.

"Don't worry about it. Next time I'll be better prepared. Now hurry up, Mr." Liv said as she kissed him on the lips and ran downstairs, dress and clutch in tote.

"Yep, definitely a handful." Fitz said as he jumped into his boxers and a pair of pants. He slipped on a t-shirt and a pair of loafers and followed after Liv.

* * *

**So, what did you think? I absolutely ADORE Fitz and Liv. They are so cute and Fitz seems to be happy again. They act like they've been together for years which is a good thing but will it come back to bite them in the ass? Lets hope not! Leave a review if you like! Xoxo **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! sorry it took so long to update this chapter but I honestly didn't like it so I had to re-vamp it a couple of times. Anyway, here's the finished product. Fitz and Liv have their first little spat but no worries. This is a love story so of course things work out in the end. I hope you enjoy! Reviews are always welcome.! Xoxo**

**I Do Not Own Scandal **

* * *

"You're a little slut!" Frankie teased as she and Harrison sat on Olivia's bed while she picked out an outfit for her meetings. Liv threw a tennis shoe at Frankie but hit Harrison in the arm instead.

"Hey! Stop throwing shit!" Harrison whined as he rubbed his arm.

"Sorry." Liv said as she walked over and kissed his cheek.

"I'm not a slut, Frankie. Before Fitz I hadn't slept with anyone since Marcello. Three years is a long time baby sis." Liv said as she stepped into her walk-in closet to dress.

"I know it's just… you don't know him. I'm just looking out for you." Frankie yelled.

"I appreciate that. I love that you care about who I'm sleeping with but with Fitz it's just… different. He's different. It's like he knows me."

"Oh, he knows you alright." Harrison said with a wink causing both Frankie and Olivia to giggle like school girls.

Liv walked out of her closet in a white blouse and brown tweed suit jacket that showed off her figure nicely. She was wearing a very tight pair of skinny jeans that hugged every curve and a pair of brown leather pumps. Harrison and Frankie both gave her a "thumbs up" and she walked over to join them on her bed.

"Listen Liv," Harrison began, "I've seen the way you two are with each other, Frankie you have too. You see how he looks at her. He worships the ground you walk on, Liv. That's enough for me." Harrison said as he got up to leave. "Just take it slow. You don't need to rush things with him. He'll stick around for you." He said as he exited her room. Liv could only smile at her best friend.

"Liv."

"Frankie, please just be happy for me. I'm having fun and that…"

"Liv," Frankie said as she took her sisters hand in hers, "I am happy for you. You haven't been this happy in a long time and that alone makes me happy. I'm just worried, is all. Fitz does seem like a great guy but I don't know him enough to trust him. You met two days ago and you, the woman who took three years to decide she was "officially" in love with Marcello, are already talking about how you love this and love that about him. I think you love him. You're in love with a man you met two days ago. That's cause for concern." Frankie said as she looked into her sisters eyes. She knew her inside and out, they were basically the same and had been through so much together that it was easy to notice when something big happened emotionally between either of them.

"Frankie, I don't know how I feel. It could just be puppy love, but either way Fitz is a good guy. I don't know what else to tell you."

They sat in silence for a moment. Liv knew it wasn't puppy love but she knew she had to convince her sister that she wasn't rushing into things. There was nothing more in the world that she wanted than a man she could call her equal and Fitz was just that. He was her dream guy.

Just then a brilliant idea popped into Liv's mind. "How about you, me, Harrison, and Fitz have dinner at his place on Friday? That way you and Harrison can grill him on anything you want." Liv said smiling. Frankie knew her sister well enough to know she really wanted her to be okay with Fitz. She could have just brushed it off as her being over protective but Liv really took everything Frankie said to heart, they both did.

"Fine. I'll make sure my schedule is clear and we'll do dinner." Frankie said reluctantly.

"Good. I'll check with Fitz and I'll confirm tomorrow."

Liv kissed her sister on the cheek and pulled her off her bed so they could head downstairs.

They had about an hour before the meeting but the gallery was just a short walk away from Liv's loft so all three of them decided to walk down to the café on the corner and grab a quick bit to eat. On the way they informed Harrison of their dinner date on Friday and he willingly accepted the invitation.

* * *

Fitz opted out of going back home once he dropped Olivia off and decided to take a tour of the city, taking in all of the attractions. He stopped at Casa Milà and La Sagrada Familia which were both designed by Antonio Gaudi, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, and the Barri Gotic (Gothic quarter). He loved everything about Barcelona and he enjoyed spending his day being a tourist and learning more about the history of the beautiful city.

As he walked the streets and squares of the Barri Gotic he took in the tragic beauty of the remains of historic landmarks. The buildings were somewhat haunting and made his heart break. Something about these abandoned and broken shells of a once vibrant and bustling portion of the city brought him back to his memories of Mellie's death. The dark quarters of the old city of Barcelona that made him remember how tragically broken their love was. How broken and unfixable their marriage was even with the pregnancy. How even though his heart broke for the death of his poor baby girl who didn't get a chance in life, his heart never took a moment to grieve the loss of his wife of almost fifteen years. Was his pain and anger and resentment towards her enough to block out all of the time and effort they'd put into their marriage. They had a partnership and that was it. At one point, when they were young and stupid, they were truly friends. Their friendship ended as soon as Mellie decided that their careers meant more than having a family or vacations or anniversaries.

They were a business and nothing more, so no. He did not grieve for the loss of his business partner and the walls of these ancient buildings, the dark crevices and the gothic figurines brought him to a place he hadn't been in years. A portion of his memory that he'd buried in the back of his mind because he hated himself for feeling those things about his wife. He hated himself for letting her be so controlling and not loving him the way he deserved. He hated himself for trying to make things work and for not just leaving her. He hated himself for not finding Olivia sooner because maybe, just maybe his life wouldn't be in shambles and he wouldn't need Olivia as much as he did now. He wouldn't need her to pick up the pieces of his broken soul because she would have been there, she would have loved him and continued to love him for who he is, not for his father or a business.

Walking alone, for hours it seemed. He walked and walked until he came to an opening. An opening that lead out of the darkness and to the sea. The Mediterranean Sea that was just on the outskirts of the old city, that lead to freedom. In that moment Fitz realized that Olivia was his freedom. She was the one who would help him rebuild his soul.

_What he didn't know was that he would do the same thing for her. Destiny had brought them together for a reason. Fitz needed to be healed from his broken and loveless marriage while Olivia needs to be healed from the horrific events of her past. The journey they were about to partake on was in deed going to be rough but in the end, they would find a love so deep and pure that no one could break them. _

Fitz was walking along the beach when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Fitz! How's the writing going? I know you said you'd call me when you had something but I'm getting hounded by publisher and editors. Everyone is dying for this new book!" Cyrus spoke briskly into the phone.

"Yeah Cy, I think I have something. It's not much but it's coming together." Fitz said as he stared out into the beautiful blue water. The waves were crashing onto shore and all he could think about was Olivia. The restless water, waves crashing, the smell of the sea, all of it reminded him of her.

"Good! Well how much have you written? I know it's been two days but I mean you have to at least have ten pages worth of good material. I know you Fitz. If you're writing for the right reasons then it's all good." Cy said half elated at knowing Fitz actually had some material. Fitz thought for a second at how many pages he'd actually written. When he first ran into Olivia, when they had their first real conversation, he wrote almost twenty pages. He was sure at least ten of those pages were just random words that filled his mind. But the night they made love, last night? He had no clue. He didn't check. He knew he had a good three hours of writing before Olivia came downstairs but three hours of non-stop writing could be between ten and thirty pages with him. If something pulled his attention enough he could write at least one hundred pages of decent material in three days. For the last three days all of his focus and energy had been on one person, Olivia Pope.

"I don't know Cy, I know it's less than one hundred but more than thirty. It's coming along. Just don't worry about anything. I'm taking my time with this one."

"That's just it, Fitz, you don't have time! Everyone understood when you took some time off after Mellie and the baby but eight years is too long. People are starting to think you've lost your touch, that you're retiring. I will not let them put you out of the community that your family has dominated for centuries. You are a Grant and Grants do not stop!"

"What if I am done, Cy! Would that be so bad? I don't want to be done writing, I love it. It feeds my soul, but at what cost? I'm not going to sell my soul and wright bullshit just to put out a piece of material. No. I refuse to do such a thing so you will tell everyone to shove it and when I have a book, when I am ready I will send it to them." Fitz said as he hung up the phone, leaving Cy speechless on the other end.

* * *

Liv met with the gallery owner at 10:30 to discuss her possibly having a permanent exhibit in the gallery. They would rotate her art work every six months to a year depending on how popular a particular exhibit was. They talked about possibly doing some of her portrait work first and then doing her historical works later on in the year. The meeting lasted about two hours and when the final details were done and she signed on the dotted line, she needed to run home and start making a list of all of her paintings that would be going into the gallery before her event planning meeting that was now pushed back to 2:30.

After making somewhat of a list with Frankie, Liv jumped into her car and drove the thirty minutes to the hotel where her charity event would be held in a month. This was the first meeting with the event planner but it was sure to be a long one because she needed to plan everything out now. Once Liv decided what she wanted there was no going back, usually. She had everything in mind she just needed to work out all of the kinks and put a budget to the event. She also needed to get in contact with the International Children's Art Foundation today and go over what pieces were going up for auction. It was rare that Liv's life was this busy but today was one of those rare occasions.

After making floor plans, arrangements, figuring out a color scheme, deciding what finger foods and what champagne would be offered among the billion other small details that had to be seen too Liv was finally able to relax. When she got home, she went into the kitchen to pour herself a glass of wine and raid her fridge for something to eat. She settled on the chicken salad she'd made a day or so ago and made her way to the couch to unwind where, before she knew it, she fell asleep.

It was almost eight when Liv finally opened her eyes. She stared at the half full glass of wine and the un-eaten chicken salad and rolled her eyes. She hated extremely long days, especially when they did not involve painting. She rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling, thinking over the day's events. Looking back on her meetings and all of the planning she realized she hadn't heard from Fitz all day. She figured he must be writing but she wanted to hear his voice so she called him, hoping he wasn't too busy to answer.

After three rings he finally picked up.

"Hi" He said in a somewhat strained voice. She immediately took notice.

"Hi. What's wrong?"

* * *

After A long walk on the beach Fitz made his way back to his car and drove back home. He looked over the landscape as he drove, taking in its beauty and somewhat rugged terrain. As he drive up to the gate leading to the property he realized he hadn't heard from Liv all day. He knew she had a full plate but he was just hoping she would call. He needed to hear her voice.

Once he got into the house he decided to go for a ride to take his mind off of everything so he ran upstairs to change. Since he was little he'd always loved horses. When he was ten his dad bought him a tan palomino pony named Whip because he tended to whip his tail at anyone who walked past him. Fitz fell in love at first sight and quickly bonded with the horse. He would ride for hours on the vast land of their family property that was situated on the Santa Barbra coast. He would ride to clear his head and get away from his father who was always jumping down his throat about the family name and making sure he kept it alive. He rode to be free form anything and everything.

When he reached the stables, he greeted the main handler and walked in. He'd been there already when he first went on a tour of the property and fell in love with the beautiful black and white speckled horse named Haraldo. He was a large stallion with a mild temper and a beautiful canter. He saddled up the horse after brushing him down a bit and cleaning out his hooves and mounted him, taking in the vast landscape of the property. With a dig of his heels they took off almost immediately, riding towards the sunset.

He and Haraldo were at the edge of the property when the sun had reached its lowest point in the sky. He looked out over the terrain and saw the sea just below them. He took in the soft breeze and the smell of the sea as his mind started to drift off. He wanted so much for his little girl to be there with him. He wanted to teach her to ride and show her the world. He had so many plans for her, for them. He wanted to give her everything and now he had nothing. He had no family that he actually cared to be around and the thought killed him. His family had always considered him the black sheep. Someone not fit to be a Grant. He was brilliant but he never "fit in". He was a rebel, doing as he pleased and goofing off. The only time his family approved of anything he did is when he married Mellie. They were so happy that he did something they asked of him, "Marry a girl with class. Someone who is brilliant and feisty and can run with the big dogs. She has to be of the right pedigree but she can't be too outspoken, that would ruin the image." That was Mellie. She was all of those things but she wasn't loving. Sure she probably loved him in her own way but it wasn't in a way that Fitz could grasp. He sighed as he thought back on his life the past 48 years and couldn't think of anything to show for it. Except for meeting Liv.

As soon as she popped into his head he heard his phone ring. Fishing it out of the satchel he'd placed on the side of Haraldo's saddle he looked at the screen and smiled as her name flashed across it.

"Nothing. I was just riding. I needed to clear my head. I'm about to head back to the house now. Wanna come over? I need to see you." Fitz said, hoping she wasn't too tired.

"I'll be there in fifteen." She hung up the phone, put away her wine and chicken salad, and walked out the door.

When Olivia arrived at the main house Fitz was standing at the door waiting for her. She jumped out of the car and made her way to him.

"Fifteen minutes exactly." Fitz said with a smile as reached him.

"Hi" she said with a smile plastered on her face. She was genuinely excited and happy to see him even though it had been less than 13 hours since they last saw each other.

"Hi" Fitz said as he pulled her into an embrace. His arms wrapped around her small frame as he pulled her close. Liv willingly fell victim to his touch and wrapped her arms around him.

"You smell like a man." She said slightly giggling.

"What do you mean by that?" Fitz asked, eyebrow cocked in amusement.

"I mean you smell like you've been working. The mixture of your natural musk and your cologne along with leather and the smell of horses, I like it. It's kinda sexy." Liv said as she pressed up to the balls of her feet to press and quick kiss onto his lips.

"Oh, so I'm sexy? I'll take it." Fitz said as he brought a hand up to her cheek and stroked it lightly. Liv could tell that something was wrong with him. She could see it in his eyes. She tried to speak on it but was cut off before she could utter a word.

"So, have you eaten yet? I can whip up something for us to eat." Fitz said as he released her from his grasp.

"I'm actually quite hungry. I wouldn't mind a glass of wine if you have any." She said as she walked behind him to the kitchen taking in his very lean body and how his jeans hugged him in all the right places.

"I do." He said as he gestured to the open bottle sitting on the island in the middle of the kitchen. He took out two wine glasses and poured them both a healthy amount. Liv smiled at him and in return he kissed her gently on the cheek.

"So, how was your day?" He asked as he turned to walk to the fridge.

"Long." Liv said in a slightly exasperated tone. "I had a meeting with a gallery owner today to see if I could get some of my artwork in rotation, he said yes. Thank God. And then I had a meeting with my event planner for a charity event I have going on next month. Let's just say it was a very tedious day. Then I'll be in and out of town for the next few weeks so I had to make some calls to the portrait models. Just a really long day." Liv said as she took a large sip of her wine.

"You're going out of town? For how long?" Fitz asked as he pulled out a chopping board and a knife, setting it on the island in front of her.

"Well I'll be in Florence for four days starting on Sunday then I'll be back for two days. Then I go to Paris for three days then straight to Mykonos and then Santorini for a week then I'm back for the charity event."

"Wow. So you're working on portraits while you're gone?" Fitz asked as he handed her a bowl full of veggies to chop.

"Mostly. I have a meeting with Marcello in Paris, which is why I'm going there. That's the only real down time I'll have." She said as she began to chop a bell pepper.

"Marcello? I take it he's one of your friends." Fitz said as he grabbed a carrot and started chopping next to her.

"Yeah. I haven't seen him in almost two years but he's a professor at one of the major art schools there and he wants me to do a workshop for the grad program starting in the fall." Liv said blandly. She didn't want Fitz to know that she and Marcello were at one time much more than friends. In fact there was talk of marriage. She also didn't want him to know because he didn't need to know. She didn't have feelings for him like that anymore.

"Well I'm just glad I get you till Sunday." Fitz said as he kissed her gently.

"That you do." Liv mumbled against his lips. After a few moments they pulled away from each other and continued chopping. Liv couldn't put her finger on it but the kiss was so distant. Like he wasn't really there. His mind was definitely somewhere else. She paused for a moment but decided to let it go.

"Oh, and we have a dinner date on Friday with Frankie and Harrison if you're free."

"Dinner with Frankie and Harrison? I feel like this might be a grill session." Olivia giggled at that statement because it was.

"You're so very smart." She said as she finished chopping. Liv set down her knife and walked behind Fitz. She pressed her body into him and snaked her arms round his body. At first he tensed at her touch but after a moment he allowed himself to relax into her.

"Frankie just wants to get a better feel for you. Its been a while since I've been with someone and actually cared enough to introduce him to my family so she feels an obligation as my sister to make sure you're a good guy."

"And Harrison?"

"Harrison thinks you're great. He'll just kill you if you hurt me." She said in the most serious tone she could.

"Well in that case, yes I'm free on Friday for dinner." Fitz said with a chuckle. "Am I cooking?"

"No. I'll cook. As long as we can have our gathering here. I don't have an actual dining room or table." Liv giggled as she pulled herself closer to him.

"Sounds like a plan, Ms. Pope."

They prepared the rest of dinner in a wave of somewhat comfortable silence. Later after they finished eating and made small talk, Liv and Fitz found themselves cuddled on the couch listening to Fitz's "Jazz Greats" playlist. Liv was nestled under his arm, her head resting on his chest. She closed her eyes as she listened to the sound of his heartbeat and to her surprise it still beat at the same pace as hers, she smiled to herself.

Fitz sighed heavily which brought her out of her cocoon of peace.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she sat up to look him in the eyes.

"Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you sounded upset on the phone when I called earlier plus you've been awkwardly quiet and distant." She said softly.

"I was upset earlier but that was- earlier. I'm fine. Now come here." Fitz said as he pulled her into his lap so that she was straddling him. He tried to kiss her but she brought her hands up to his face and pulled back.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Liv said as she looked into his eyes. He stared back at her, his eyes clouded and full of pain.

"Yes. Now can we please stop talking?" Fitz said as he reached for the hem of her shirt. She put her hands over his and shook her head.

"No. We're not having sex until you tell me what's up." Fitz sighed heavily and moved her off of his lap.

"Liv, I don't want to talk about this." He was getting irritated. He didn't know why but he did know he didn't want to talk about this. He never wanted to bring up his true feelings about Mellies death.

"Maybe you'll feel better if you do." She said as she took his hand in hers.

"Liv! Stop it. I'm done. Please. Just stop trying to get me to talk about this. Let it go!" Fitz yelled as he snatched his hand away from her. Olivia was speechless. She honestly didn't know how to react to him. She was hurt because she though he trusted her enough to talk about anything. After a moment of shock, she finally found the words to speak.

"Fitz, you're upset. I get that. I understand you not wanting to talk about it, believe me but you think you're the only one who has lost someone? Really?" She paused to look him in the eyes but he turned his head away. "Fine. You don't have to talk but you will not raise your voice at me. Not when all I want to do is help you. I like you, a lot. Fitz, I just want you to be happy and seeing you so upset… It hurts me. So when you want to talk, you let me know. I'm here for you but you can't shut me out. You're not alone in this." There were tears in Liv's eyes but she refused to let them fall. Fitz couldn't help but want to take her into his arms, to wipe the tears away and tell her he was sorry but he was angry.

He didn't speak. He couldn't. The look on her face, the sadness and confusion about what was going on, killed him.

"Nothing? Great. I'll go." Liv said as she grabbed her jacket. Her movement shocked him out of his locked position. "she's leaving" he said to himself. "Wait, Liv." Fitz chocked out as she stood up and walked out of the living room.

"Livvie!" Fitz yelled after her as she made her way to the door. He ran full speed, he needed to catch her. To tell her how sorry he was. He knew she was trying to help. Lucky for him she left her car keys in the kitchen and he almost ran into her when he ran around the corner.

"Livvie, wait." Fitz said as he grabbed onto her checking to see if he'd hurt her in his haste.

"What, Fitz?" Her voice cracked. She briefly looked at him but tore her eyes away when she felt her walls crumbling.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know you just wanted to help me but, please. Don't be upset. I just can't talk about it. Not right now. I promise I'll tell you when I'm ready. Please, forgive me?" His hands were stroking her cheek but she still wasn't looking at him.

"Liv, look at me." She didn't but he could see her eyes start to soften. He continued to stroke her cheek, hoping she would just give him anything.

"Please, Livvie. Just look at me." She hesitated for a beat but she turned her head and locked eyes with him. His stormy grey eyes were filled with regret and she knew he was sorry but she was still upset.

"I forgive you. Just- I'll call you tomorrow." She said as she moved from his touch, which hurt his heart, to grab her keys out of the kitchen. When she got back to the front, the door was open and Fitz was standing on the front stairs of the house looking out into the darkness. She walked up next to him and interlaced their fingers. Fitz held his breath in that moment. He didn't want her to go.

For a moment they just stood there. Then she walked to her car and made her way down the long driveway.

* * *

When Liv walked into her house she immediately took notice of the voices coming from her kitchen.

"Hello?" She said as she made her way through the house.

"Liv? What are you doing home?" Frankie said. She and Harrison were sitting on the island in her kitchen eating a chocolate cake they'd apparently made and drinking wine.

"Ugh, it was just a weird night. So I'm here and I need cake." Liv said as she grabbed a fork from the drawer and moved around the island to where the cake was placed. Frankie and Harrison just looked at her for a moment, letting her take a few bites before asking questions.

"So, you gonna tell us what happened?" Harrison asked as he got another fork full of cake.

"Do I have to? It really wasn't anything. We both just got upset. It was his fault and he apologized. No harm done." Liv said, not looking at either one of them.

"Then what's the problem?" Frankie asked as she stroked Liv's hair. She sighed and relaxed at the feeling of her sister stroking her hair.

"He was just so upset and I wanted to help him. I tried to help him but he wouldn't open up. We've talked about things, deep and horrible things but this time he shut me out almost like he felt guilty for feeling whatever it is that he's feeling." Just as she dug her fork into the cake there was a knock at her door.

"I've got it." Harrison said as he hopped off of the island and headed to the front door.

"Who could that be?" Frankie asked as she slid down off of the island after him.

Liv shrugged her shoulders and they both walked out of the kitchen. When they walked around the corner to the living room they were both surprised to find Harrison talking to Fitz. Liv's heart skipped a beat at seeing him. Fitz turned his head in realization that they were no longer alone and he nodded his head in the direction of the ladies. Harrison took notice, turned his head, and offered a genuine smile to Olivia.

"Liv. You have a visitor." Harrison said as he walked over to her and Frankie. When Fitz's eyes met Olivia's big brown orbs he couldn't help but fall for her all over again. She was beautiful and he just wanted to be with her. They stood staring at each, no words exchanged. There were so many things that they both wanted to say but they couldn't. The air was thick with emotion and Harrison could sense that he and Frankie were just getting in the way.

"Hey Frankie, why don't you and I go watch a movie in my room. I'll even let you pick." Frankie rolled her eyes at him, she knew what he was doing. She looked to Liv who was broken out of Fitz's pull by Harrisons words. She smiled slightly and nodded that she'd be fine.

"Yeah. Sounds good. You know it's gonna be a chick flick, right?" Harrison grabbed her hand and shuffled her out of the living room.

"Good night guys!" Liv yelled as they disappeared down the hall. Fitz just stood there, not knowing where to begin. He opened his mouth to speak but Olivia just shook her head as she offered out her hand.

''C'mon, lets go to bed. We'll talk about it in the morning." She said softly causing Fitz to let out a weighted sigh. He walked over to her and took her hand in his as she led them up the stairs to her bedroom. Within seconds they were down to their underwear and under her comforter cuddling into each other as they drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

**Alright, so how was it? It's kinda tedious, I know, but like i said I was struggling. I'm finally out of the woods with this and now I can move on to the rest of their week and a fun dinner with Harrison and Frankie. Again, review if you like! Xoxo **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter. I know its been forever but I've been a busy little bee with auditions and work. I made this chapter a little longer than the norm to make up for it. I hope you guys enjoy! Please review Xoxo**

**I Do Not Own Scandal**

* * *

Void. That's what Fitz felt when he woke up the next morning to an empty bed. When he went to sleep he had the most beautiful woman cuddled up next to him and now he was in her bed, half naked and alone.

"Liv?" He called out into the room but didn't receive a response. He sat up and rubbed his eyes then took in his surroundings. All of Liv's paintings were scattered around the room, their clothes were on the floor and his phone was… _Where is my phone?_ Fitz thought to himself. He looked around the room and didn't see it anywhere in plain sight. He just wanted to know what time it was. The sun was streaming into the massive bay window in her room so it could be early morning or early afternoon. He got up from the bed and stretched before tugging on his jeans and walking out of the room.

He walked slowly down the stairs and realized that there were noises coming from the kitchen. He walked past the breakfast table and saw his phone and a note.

_Hi Baby,_

_I went to grab a few things from the store for breakfast. I'll be back soon. I didn't want to wake you. _

_Xoxo_

_Liv_

Fitz smiled at the note and turned as he heard the sounds get a little louder. He raised his eyebrows as he realized the noises were moans. _What the hell? _Fitz quietly walked to the entrance of the kitchen and spotted the source of the moans. Fitz couldn't help but let out a loud gasp as he saw Harrison and Frankie in a very compromising position in which Harrisons hands disappeared under Frankie's night gown. When they heard the gasp they shot apart and looked at Fitz like they were teenagers who'd just gotten caught by their parents.

"Good morning." Fitz said with a cheesy grin plastered to his face.

"Uhhh, hey, Fitz. I… we thought you left with Liv this morning?" Harrison stammered out as he pulled out a chair and sat down at the island.

"No. She left me to sleep the day away. How are you this morning, Frankie?" Fitz said with a giggle as she stared at him still in obvious shock of being caught.

"You can't tell Liv what you saw."

"Frankie, I…"

"Please? She would flip." Fitz could see the slight panic in Frankie's eyes and glanced over to Harrison who only shook his head yes in response.

"Sure, Frankie. No worries my lips are sealed." Fitz said with a friendly smile and Frankie let out an audible sigh of relief and walked over to the coffee pot to turn it on. Fitz didn't know why Frankie was so concerned with Liv knowing about her and Harrison but he wasn't going to push. He'd just gotten to know them and he didn't want to put a rift between their growing friendships. They sat in a somewhat awkward silence for a few minutes but were broken out of the thick air of secrecy when they heard the front door open and shut.

"Hello!" Liv called out as she walked through the living room.

"Hey babe, we're in here." Fitz called from the kitchen as he moved to sit next to Harrison at the island.

"Good morning, baby." Liv said as she walked into the kitchen and planted a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Morning, Liv." Harrison and Frankie said in unison. Liv looked between the both of them and they both offered up nervous smiles.

"Morning. How was your night? Did you watch movies all night?" Liv said as she sat her bag of groceries down on the island and pulling out pots and pans to start making breakfast.

"Uhhh.."

"Yeah. You know. Harrison hates my taste in movies and…"

"Ha! Yeah so you know we fought over what to watch for a while and…"

"Didn't you guys say you watched An Affair to Remember?" Fitz said as he broke through the verbal chaos that was erupting from them.

"Yeah! That's what we settled on. I won. Ha." Frankie said as she placed her hand on her chest and took a deep breath.

"Why are you guys acting so weird?" Liv asked as she looked up from the onions she was chopping. They were silent and just shrugged at her. Liv rolled her eyes and continued her work.

"What are you making, babe?" Fitz asked as he tried to ease the tension in the room.

"A frittata. You'll love it. Red peppers, onion, cilantro, chorizo, and spinach all in a fluffy egg soufflé." Fitz got up from his seat, rounded the island and wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her in closely and taking in her scent. Liv relaxed into his touch and smiled up at him.

"Hi."

"Hi." Fitz brought a hand up to her face and stroked it lightly before bringing his lips down to hers in a searing kiss.

"Ugh, get a room." Harrison said as he threw a dish towel at them. This only made Fitz deepen the kiss causing a small moan to escape from Liv's mouth.

"I think I just lost my appetite." Harrison said as he walked past them and out of the kitchen. Frankie just giggled and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"So, what do you two kids have up for today?" Frankie said as she sat down at the island.

"I was kind of hoping we could head to the beach house and spend the day in the sun." Liv said as she resumed preparing the ingredients for breakfast.

"Sounds good to me." Fitz said as he grabbed two coffee mugs and poured coffee into both. "I'm cool with a little fun in the sun for a while but I need to work on my book at some point today."

"You and Harrison want to come along?" Liv asked as she eyed her sister who hadn't made eye contact with her since she got home.

"No. You and Fitz have fun. I have some errands to run anyway." Frankie got up from her spot and walked out of the room.

"Why are they acting so weird?" Liv asked as she watched sister leave. Fitz just shrugged and handed Liv her coffee.

* * *

"Where is this beach house of yours?" Fitz asked as they cruised along the coastline.

"It's not really a beach house as much as it's an abandoned hut that Frankie and I found almost six years ago. We go there anytime we need to think. I figured we could use it." Liv said with a small grin. Fitz took her hand in his and kissed it before interlacing their fingers.

The ride was only an hour and when they got there it was most definitely worth the trip. They ended up somewhere about half a mile off the main strip of road to a lagoon that was crystal clear. The beach was only a few feet away providing perfect access to the natural beauty of the cliffs and rocks that could be viewed from the hut. At first Fitz was skeptical of the very old and somewhat unstable looking building but once inside he saw that Liv and Frankie had re-done the interior and there was artwork hanging all around.

"Wow!" Fitz said as he walked in.

"I know. This is one of my favorite places in the world." Liv said as she walked around the small space.

Fitz sat down on the daybed and watched her as she took in everything. She looked so beautiful and so at peace. There was nothing more that he wanted in the world than to be with her, to hold her, to make her happy forever.

"What are you thinking about?" Liv said as she sat down next to him.

"You. I'm always thinking about you." Fitz said as he leaned back on the bed, relaxing into the surprisingly comfortable pillows. He patted the small space next to him and Liv snuggled herself into him.

"I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to snap at you. You were trying to help and I appreciate it." Fitz said as he rubbed small circles into her arm.

"I'm sorry I pushed you. I just keep forgetting that we've only known each other for what, a week? Maybe less?" Liv said as she moved her head to his chest listening to the sound of his heartbeat.

"Five days to be exact. The best and most eye opening five days I've ever had. Livvie, the reason I was so upset last night it because I feel like I don't deserve you. I've been through so much and I'm broken. I'm so broken and I don't want you to deal with it." Liv took his hand and intertwined their finger before she spoke.

"Fitz, I'm here for you. I care about you and I don't want you to push me away because contrary to popular belief, I need you. As much as you think I'm fine, I'm not. I'm broken too." Fitz looked at her questioningly. What was she talking about? Liv sighed and sat up from her place on his chest. She looked him in the eyes and began to speak of her broken past. She told him everything about her parents, her nightmares, and why she doesn't show her abstract paintings to just anyone. Fitz was speechless. How could this beautiful and so free spirited woman have such a horribly devastating past? Why wasn't he there then, when she needed him most?

"Livvie, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. It was a long time ago but from time to time my nightmares come back. I've never really told anyone about them, Frankie and Harrison are really the only people who know about them. I hadn't had one for almost ten years, until two nights ago." Liv said as she looked away from him, staring at a few of the paintings on the wall.

"Hey." Fitz said as he sat up and pulled her into his embrace. She instantly melted into him, letting the reality of what she just told him set in. She never spoke of her dreams and would never because they scared her to death. Death, the thing she feared most for those she loved so deeply. None of her former lovers even knew of her dreams because she didn't feel for them the way she feels for Fitz. Five days and he'd already stolen her heart.

"I'll protect you, Liv. You don't need to worry, or hide, or be scared because I'm here for you." Fitz said as he pressed soft kisses into her hair.

"Thank you." Liv said as she leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips.

"How about we stop with the stories until later? Lets go swimming?" Fitz said has he pulled her up to standing. She shook her head yes pulled off the sundress she'd been wearing to reveal an extremely skimpy bikini that left little to the imagination.

"Wow, Livvie. I…" Fitz's eyes were wide as he took in the thin material, or lack thereof.

"I take it you like what you see." Liv said with a devilish grin.

"Like doesn't even begin to cover it." Fitz said as he moved to close the space between them. He was halted then Liv shook her head no and bolted out of the door giggling.

"Come on, Grant!" She yelled as she glanced over her shoulder. Fitz quickly stripped down to his speedo and took off after her.

"You're gonna get it!" he yelled after her.

* * *

Most of the day, they swam around and played like teenagers in the water. They jumped off of the many rocks that surrounded the area and explored the tiny alcoves that were located just off of the beach. They giggled and ran and screamed and just plain enjoyed each other. Fitz would, at times, just stop and watch Olivia. He loved to see her smile and her laugh was like sweet music to his ears. He would stare at her with a cheesy grin and in those moments he realized, without a doubt that he would do anything in his power to keep her in his life. She made him happy and turned his world right side up. She was helping him to be the man he was twenty years ago. He could laugh whole heartedly and genuinely smile without feeling a twinge of guilt or depression clouding his mind. It was freeing and everything he wanted in life. She was everything he wanted in life.

Olivia would catch him staring at her and it would make her heart skip a beat. The look in his eyes made her mind race and her heart sing, something she'd never come to really experience. She wanted to ask him, why? What about her made him so happy? She was just a random woman he met on the street, nothing special. Sure she'd been told numerous times that she was beautiful and brilliant but no one actually made her feel that way, not until Fitz. The things they talked about, how art affects children and society, things that interested her and she worked so hard to prove. He took a true interest in it. He agreed with it. He was so supportive and that never happened to her. Most of the men she dated only saw her for her beauty and her bank account. Marcello, although he did support her career, was never one to take her seriously. He saw her as a free spirit that only did what she wanted because she had the funds to do so.

"What?" Liv asked as he stared at her while she stared off into the distance. They were sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean, watching the many boats that tended to crowd the harbors of Spain during the tourist season.

"What?" Fitz asked as he turned his head quickly and smiled internally.

"You have been staring at me on and off all day. Is there something on your mind?" Liv asked as she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Nothing in particular." He said with a smile. "But, I think I'm falling in love with you." Liv paused, her finger still intertwined with his curls, her heart leapt into her throat. She stared at him, not wanting to speak or breathe. Fitz turned to look at her and saw the slight panic in her eyes. He didn't want to scare her, he wanted more than anything to be with her. He needed to be with her.

"Liv, I don't… I can't help falling in love with you. I know we just met. I know that but I have been in love with you from the moment I met you. I didn't know it. At first I thought it was infatuation, you're beautiful and so smart and thoughtful."

"Fitz…"  
"Liv, the reason I was acting so strangely last night is because I was thinking about how much I hated Mellie. I hated her for being more invested in our future as a corporation instead of our future as a family. I hated her for being in congress with my father and not taking into consideration my feelings towards taking over the family business. I also hated myself for marrying her and not waiting for you to come into my life. If I had waited for you I would have been happier and a better man a long time ago. If I had met you and not married Mellie I wouldn't feel like such an evil sun of a bitch for being so completely broken about the loss of my daughter but not giving a second thought to Mellie's death." Fitz saw the internal struggle going on in Liv's mind. She was barely breathing and her brown doe eyes were wide as they took in everything he said. She couldn't speak and Fitz didn't know what to think. He didn't know what was going through her mind and it was scaring him. He shouldn't have told her. He knew he shouldn't have.

"I'm in love with you." Liv whispered to herself. Fitz saw her lips move slightly but he didn't hear her.

"Livvie, what…"

"You're not evil or a monster for feeling that way about Mellie. She broke you. She made you feel trapped and belittled you and withheld the prospect of a family from you until she needed it as leverage. You have every right to be angry with her but stop punishing yourself. You have to stop punishing yourself and move on." Liv said as she continued to stare into his eyes. "And, I'm in love with you. I don't think I am. I know." Liv said with all the conviction she had.

Fitz, after hearing her profession of love, pulled Liv into his arms and kissed her deeply. His hand rested at the base of her neck as he pulled her in closer to him as she straddled him and ran her fingers through his hair. His tongue glided over her lips and Liv parted her lips willingly allowing him access. Their tongues dueled as he took her mouth hungrily and small moans of passion escaped from her lips. Fitz moved his hand to grip her waist firmly. The pressure of his fingers as they gripped her body sent a shock of electricity up her spine. Liv began to grind into him as his erection was more than prevalent in his speedos. The friction of him on her sensitive nub through her bikini bottoms was causing her to become extremely aroused. She removed one of his hands from her waist and guided it down to her wet heat. Fitz broke away from her grasp and rolled them over so that he was on top of her.

"Are you trying to take control of this situation, Ms. Pope?" Fitz asked between the open mouth kisses he placed on her neck. He paused to look her in the eyes, seeing the desire behind them, and smiled as he slowly kissed down her body. As he made his way to the promise land, they were rudely interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone. Liv sighed in slight annoyance but Fitz continued to make his way down her body.

"Fitz.."

"Just ignore it. I am not stopping." Fitz said as the phone stopped ringing. He smiled and then reached underneath her and untied her bikini top, exposing her already pert nipples. Liv moaned when he took one into his mouth, teasing it with his teeth and sucking on it playfully. He continued on to her other nipple, teasing and playing with it, reveling in the sound of her moans.

"Baby, I love you." Liv said breathlessly as he kissed down her stomach. Fitz moved to untie Liv's bikini bottoms, taking the knot in his mouth and tugging at it gently causing a giggle to escape from Liv's mouth. Just as he succeeded in getting the knot undone his phone began to ring again.

"Babe you should get the phone." Liv said as she sat up on her elbows and grabbed his phone. Fitz sighed heavily and looked up at her.

"Are you seriously asking me to stop so I can answer my phone?" Fitz asked somewhat irritated.

"I never said you had to stop. I just said you should answer the phone." Fitz raised is eyebrow quizzically but when a mischievous grin spread over Liv's face he knew what she was up to. He quickly answered the phone.

"Hello?" Fitz said as he untied the other side of her bottoms and slid the material away.

"Fitz! Why in the hell haven't you been answering my calls?" Cyrus yelled into the phone. Fitz grinned at Liv and brought his pointer finger up to his lips indicating her to stay quiet. Liv winked at him.

"Cy, I've been extremely busy." Fitz said as he penetrated Liv with his index finger. Liv bit her bottom lip in attempt to muffle her moans. Fitz stroked her slowly and licked her sensitive bud lightly as Cyrus continued to speak.

"Fitz your father has been hounding me about when you plan on coming back to the states. He is not getting any younger and he needs someone to take over the business. The Grant name is on the door and it should stay there!" Cy yelled. Fitz took the beginning of Cy's rant as a signal, knowing that if he didn't stop him he would rant long enough for him to make Liv come. He gently inserted another finger into her depths and Liv took in a sharp breath as she threw her head back in pleasure.

"I don't want to talk about my father, Cy." Fitz said as he smiled at the pleasure he was giving to Liv. She slowly began to meet every thrust of his fingers writhing in the sensations of the slow tug and pull.

"Too fucking bad, Fitz! You need to get your book done and bring your ass back to the states as soon as possible. You are a grown man with responsibilities and not some kid who decided to take a year off of college to travel the world! I get that you've been struggling and as your mentor I understand the need to get away from it all but this is borderline ridiculous!" While Cy was ranting Fitz began to flick his tongue over her mound, over and over again and Liv's hips bucked in response. She was trying, oh was she trying, to control her moans but Fitz was a master of oral sex and she knew she wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

"Fitzgerald." Liv whispered as he continued to stroke her walls. He snapped his head up and smiled at the look of desperation on her face. He thought about stopping Cy's rant but then again he was having way too much fun.

"Cy, I'm not coming back to the states anytime soon. In fact I might not be coming back at all. I like it here. The culture, the museums and the food are enough to keep me here for life." Fitz said as he removed his fingers from her depths and put them in his mouth, sucking all of her essence off of his fingers.

"In fact, I'm about to eat right now and I have a beautiful date who is rather annoyed with me…"

"You can eat while we talk." Fitz chuckled to himself and licked her moist slit, taking in her taste and her scent. " Tell your date to reschedule! We have serious business to deal with, Fitz. You know your publishers are thinking about pulling you?" Cy said furiously.

"Really? I didn't know?" Fitz said as he began to rub deep circles into her bundle of nerves. She let out a whimper and her hands immediately shot to his hair, tugging and pulling at his curls as she tried brace herself for her impending orgasm. Fitz continued to lick her, not letting up unless he needed to speak.

"Fitz you're a selfish, over bread, rich boy with a wealthy family and it's time you reclaimed your place in high society! Stop fucking around and get your life together before you have no life to come back too. I care about you, Fitz, but I will not be made out to look like a fool. Get your shit together, now. I'm not joking or so help me I will fly to Spain and drag your ass back!" As soon as he spoke his last word the line went dead and a sharp moan escaped Liv's mouth as her orgasm overcame her.

"He hung up." Fitz said with a chuckle as he chucked his phone to the side and placed a firm grip on her waist and continued to lap up her juices as he waited for her to come down from her oral high.

"I should have never let you do that. You were way too excited." Liv said as she regained her breath. Fitz smiled and kissed her inner thigh.

"I love you, Ms. Pope." Fitz said as he made his way up her body. He stared in her eyes for a moment, her doe eyes bearing all to him, and he kissed her deeply. Liv could taste herself on his lips and the effect was dizzying. He pulled away from the kiss and Liv let out a disappointed grunt causing Fitz to laugh.

"Sorry to break it to you Livvie but I do need to at least pretend to write something today." He said as he began to gather her bikini. Liv, in protest, pouted her lips and batted her eyelashes at him. Fitz shook his head, he knew he couldn't say no to her and it was taking all of his will power to not take her fully.

"How about you forget writing, just for another hour? It's still pretty early considering we got here at ten. You'll have the rest of the afternoon to write, just… please?" Liv said with a devilish grin. Fitz felt his will power slip away as Liv reached between them and gripped his firm shaft.

Two and a half hours later they were back at Fitz's place, Liv was making a late lunch and Fitz, was sitting in the office writing away. Liv decided it was best not to disturb him so she went into the living room and browsed through the DVD collection that was there. After selecting one of her favorites, Jumping Jack Flash, she popped it in and snuggled under a blanket on the couch.

This is how they spent most of the week, working and relaxing with each other. Fitz would write while she would paint or if Liv had errands to run she would do it while he was writing. They mostly stayed at his place, only heading to her loft when she needed to grab a few more pieces of canvas or if she ran out of paint or charcoal. They were like a married couple, working with and around each other with ease, sleeping in each other's arms and waking up the same way.

It was everything they both dreamed of and more but Fitz knew that it was almost over, for a few weeks anyway, so he made a point to spend as much time with her as he possibly could while still working to make his deadline.

* * *

As Friday afternoon rolled around, Liv and Fitz were getting ready for their dinner with Frankie and Harrison.

"I'm excited for tonight." Fitz said as they walked down the street to the local market.

"Really? Why?" Liv asked as she interlaced her fingers with his.

"Because Frankie and Harrison are the two most important people in your life. They don't really know anything about me and I don't really know anything about them so it'll be good to put it all out on the table." Fitz kissed Liv on her temple and she smiled at him.

"I just hope that whatever the hell that was going on between them the other day is cleared up." Fitz offered her a sly smile and Liv looked at him quizzically.

"What?" Liv said as they walked into the open air market.

"I think they are fine. Don't worry about them." Fitz said as he pulled her further into the crowds of people surrounding the different stands.

There were dozens of people out and there was live music coming from somewhere in the center of the market. There were fresh veggies and spices all around and everyone who knew Liv greeted her as they passed by. They stopped at many of the stands and sampled the different foods and wines they had to offer. After about an hour and a half, they gathered everything they needed for tonight's dinner and made their way out of the crowds and headed back up the street to Liv's loft.

While Fitz placed the groceries in the car, Liv grabbed an outfit for the evening and a few other things, including a surprise for Fitz then hopped in the car.

"Liv what time are they coming?" Fitz yelled from the bathroom as he finished shaving.

"They are coming in about half an hour, babe." Liv said as she emerged from his closet. Fitz smiled to himself as he saw her in the mirror. She had on a black floor-length skirt and a tight-fitting blush pink top that made her skin glow. She wore her hair straight and her makeup was simple adding only a gold watch and a pair of gold earrings to her look.

"You look beautiful." Fitz said as he finished wiping his freshly shaven face with a warm towel.

"Thank you. You don't look so bad yourself." Liv said with a wink as she took in Fitz's body that was completely bare sans the towel he draped around his neck. Fitz turned to face her, showing off all of his massive glory, and smiled a very charming smile.

"You like what you see?" Fitz said as he walked towards her. Liv licked her lips as she took in the sight of him but backed away from him knowing that if he touched her it would be all over.

"No. We don't have time, Fitz." He stopped mid stride and used his hands to cup his manhood.

"Ok. But I want a kiss from my beautiful woman. I promise to keep my hands, and other things, to myself." Liv chuckled at his antics but he was too cute to deny. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"So I'm "your" woman now?" Liv asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Fitz said bluntly.

"So possessive Dr. Grant." Fitz growled at her words and nearly broke his promise to behave. Liv's breath hitched at the sound and she could feel herself become moist.

"Wait until tonight. I'll show you possessive." Fitz said as he brought his lips down to hers hungrily. The kiss was searing and deep. Liv began to rake her fingers through his hair and a small moan escaped from her lips. Fitz pulled back, his lips still hovering over hers.

"I need to get dressed or this isn't going to stop." Fitz pried himself out of her arms and kissed her neck lightly.

"Too bad, Grant. " Liv said as she slowly walked out of the bathroom. "You would have had easy access considering I'm not wearing any underwear."

Fitz chuckled to himself thinking she was bluffing but when she turned around to look at him, the twinkle in her told him that tonight was going to be one for the books.

* * *

**So what do you think?! I hope you guys enjoy this story as much as I do and again I'm SO sorry for the late update. Xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

Liv was in the kitchen grabbing a few things out of the fridge for the salad they were having with dinner when Fitz walked in.

"You need any help?" He asked as he made his way to the wine rack, pulling out three different bottles.

"If you make the dressing for the salad while I put it together I'll love you forever." She said as she smiled at him.

"Anything for you." Fitz said as he walked over to here she was standing. He took her hand and kissed the inside of her palm lightly before starting on the dressing. Not ten minutes later, the doorbell rang and Liv scurried out of the kitchen to grab the door.

"Hey guys!" Liv said as she answered the door. Frankie and Harrison gave her a hug and Liv stepped aside to let them into the house.

"Wow. This place is massive." Harrison said as he walked around the living room.

"Yeah I know. I got a little lost the first time I came here."

"I can see why. Speaking of, where is that hunk of man?" Frankie asked as she walked towards the sliding glass doors.

"Oh so I'm a hunk? I think I can live with that." Fitz said as he walked out to the living room. "Hey Frankie. Harrison. "

"Hey, Fitz." Frankie said as she smiled at him.

"How about we sit down and get dinner started. I don't mean to brag but I think I outdid myself." Liv said as she started towards the kitchen.

"You let her cook? Lord help us all." Harrison said as he looked to Frankie and chuckled.

"Just for that you get no wine or desert!" Liv yelled from the kitchen. Harrison smiled slightly but kept his eyes on Frankie causing her to blush.

"You know, if you don't want her to find out about this you need to stop with the longing looks of love." Fitz said with a slight chuckle. Frankie and Harrison just looked at each other, not really knowing how they were going to pull this lie off.

Dinner was great and full of conversation. Frankie and Harrison sat next to each other while Fitz and Liv sat across from them. They ate and drank in their usual friendly fashion and kept the topic of conversation to that of Fitz and his work and his intentions with Liv. Although he left out a few key details that he'd only told Liv, Frankie and Harrison began to see why Liv was so in love with this man. He was her match, her one. He was definitely someone that would be good for her in the long run.

After dinner they moved from the formal dining room to the patio where they enjoyed desert in the warm night air. Both couples couldn't keep their hands off of each other, but neither one was exceptionally outright about it. The chocolate soufflé Liv made and the copious amounts of wine taking effect on them. Frankie and Harrison tried to minimize their under the table action, a little hand on the knee/thigh action, fingers grazing every so often, nudges here and there, a few loving looks. Fitz, on the other hand, was determined to show Liv how possessive he could be.

* * *

During dinner Fitz had managed to keep his hands to himself for the most part. He would hold her hand from time to time and kiss her on the cheek when she spoke or graze her knee with his calloused fingers sending a shiver up her spine. But as soon as they cleared the dinner plates and moved to the kitchen to grab desert for them and their guests, his intentions were made extremely clear.

"Fitz, we can't…" Liv managed to moan out as Fitz inched up the hem of her skirt, his lips attached to her pulse point. He had her pressed against the refrigerator, the cold stainless steel in deep contrast to the fire that was her skin. His touch always managed to set her ablaze and nothing, except him bringing her to release, could stop the burn.

"We can. I just want to touch you, baby." He mumbled as his fingers made their way to her core. He ghosted over her lower lips before spreading them, exploring her folds and relishing in the wet heat.

"Mmmmm, baby. We need to stop, we have guests." Liv managed to say unconvincingly.

"They can entertain themselves." Fitz said with a smile as he slid a finger inside of her slick heat. Liv gasped as he went to work, gently thrusting his massive digit. Liv couldn't think for a moment. He had this dominance about him that had her at loss for words and weakened her resolve. She knew that if he inserted another finger, if he brought her closer to the edge she would be too far gone to stop and they would be fucking on the floor of the kitchen while her sister and best friend waited. She needed to act fast, her eyes already fluttering closed as he started rubbing deep circles into her mound.

"Baby, stop." Liv managed to say with confidence as she grabbed his wrist, halting all movement. Fitz immediately pulled his attention away from her jawline and looked her square in the eyes. He could see the lust and the fire in her eyes, he knew she would be his in seconds if he continued.

"Do you really want me to stop?" He whispered as he leaned back in to her. Listening to the ragged breath that was trying to escape her body. She didn't want him to stop. She wanted him to unzip his pants and fuck her against the fridge but that would have to wait.

"Yes." She said in a weak voice.

"Fine. I'll stop." He whispered as he quickly removed his fingers from her depths. Liv whimpered slightly at the sudden void, evoking a smile and a genuinely curious raise of an eyebrow out of Fitz. He moved to wipe his fingers off with a dishtowel but was halted by the small had that was still holding his wrist tightly.

"Livvie?" Fitz asked with a mischievous smirk. She didn't say anything as she stared into his eyes. She didn't know why she stopped him from cleaning up or why she was still holding on to him. She smiled weakly and took a deep breath, trying to regain composure but failed miserably when he placed his finger in his mouth and sucked it clean. She moaned at the action, wishing he was licking and sucking her.

"What's taking so long?" Harrison called out from the patio, snapping them out of their little world of lust and back to reality.

"Sorry! Be out in a second!" Liv said as she straightened out her skirt and moved to grab the cooled desert from the island.

"You know you're going to pay for that later." Fitz said as he watched her work quickly to get the soufflé's on a tray.

"Pay for what?" She asked, knowing good and well what she would be paying for as soon as the guests were out the door. He smiled charmingly at her as he waltzed over to the island where she was standing. He placed two fingers under her chin and turned her face so she could look him in the eyes. He pressed his forehead into hers and brushed his nose against hers.

"You know that I'm not going to be able to keep my hands to myself." Fitz said as he brushed a strand of hair from out of her face.

"I know." She said in a voice she hardly recognized. "But I promise, after Frankie and Harrison leave, I'm all yours."

Fitz smiled and kissed her lightly. He pulled away from her and helped to bring out the deserts to their friends.

"It's about time!" Frankie yelled from around the pool where she and Harrison had moved as they took in the massive estate.

* * *

"So what are you boys going to do while we're gone?" Frankie Liv asked as they sat on the patio drinking wine and slowly eating dessert.

"You're going too?" Fitz asked as he took a sip of wine.

"Yes. Liv's going to need help with equipment and materials so I figured I'd tag along so she doesn't have to pay someone to do it for her. Plus, I haven't been to Greece in so long and it's the perfect excuse." Frankie said with a giggle.

"I've never been to Greece." Fitz said as he intertwined his fingers with Liv's.

"Really? Babe you should join us when we get there. Greece is beautiful in the summer. Hell it's beautiful year round but, come. Please?" Liv said as she placed a small kiss on the side of his mouth. Fitz didn't need much persuasion. Liv would be gone for basically a month and that was more than enough time to get some work done and even possibly finish his book. He would need to see her. He always needed to see her. To be near her and touch her skin.

"Sure. I'll go. Just let me know the dates and I'll get a ticket." Fitz said with a smile. Liv's eyes grew bright and he knew she really wanted him there. He knew she would miss him just as much as he would miss her.

"Yay! Okay good. Well that means you need to get your ass on a plane as well, Harrison. I can't force Frankie to be a third wheel." Liv said as she snuggled into Fitz's side. His warmth covering her as a slight breeze chilled the night air.

"Me?" Harrison said looking over at Frankie for assurance.

"Yeah. Why not? We can rent separate places. You and I can share a place and Fitz and Liv can do their thing. I don't wanna hear them fucking at all hours of the night so please say you'll come." Frankie said with a wink. Liv almost choked on her wine and Fitz let out a loud laughter.

"Frankie!" Liv managed to say as she composed herself.

"Liv! C'mon you know I'm right. Fitz looks like he has an appetite that takes a while to satisfy." Fitz could only laugh. She was right and he wasn't going to deny it. He'd never been insatiable. With Mellie the sex was good, when they had it. Usually just good enough to take the edge off. But with Liv? His body couldn't contain itself in regards to her. They would have sex a few times a day and if not, a few rounds at night. Usually three times in a day seemed to be the norm and he couldn't understand it. The moment he could smell her perfume or touch her or even if she whispered something to him, he would get aroused. The way her hips swayed when she walked or the breathy laugh she would give him. Everything about her made him burn with desire and he liked it. Hell, he loved it. He loved her.

"Well It's not like I have anything else going on. So yeah. I'll hang out for what… a week?"

"Yeah. Most of my commissions are in Greece. I'm also doing freehand during the week to see what else I can come up with." Liv said as she gently rubbed circles into Fitz's back. He sighed into her touch and kissed her lightly on the lips. Liv smiled lightly at the sensations that shot through her body. She was eager for her family to leave but she knew that the longer they stayed, the more possessive he would get.

"I can't wait to get to Paris. I love the city. Luckily we won't be doing any work there so we can go shopping!" Frankie said as she popped a raspberry in her mouth.

"Why are you going to Paris if you're not working?" Harrison asked.

"She's being wooed by a professor at university who wants her to do a commission. Teach a class to the Grad students." Fitz said as he looked at her. Liv just nodded in agreement.

"Wait, Marcello?" Harrison said slightly wide eyed. Frankie nudged him lightly causing Harrison looked down at his feet.

"Yeah. But we're only going for a day and a half and then we're out." Liv said as she slightly tensed.

"You know Marcello too?" Fitz asked sensing the slight change in atmosphere.

"Yeah. I know him. He's definitely not one of my favorite people in the world." Fitz raised an eyebrow at that and looked to Liv who seemed uncomfortable about the topic at hand.

"Liv?" Fitz asked as he shifted in his seat slightly uncomfortable. She wasn't looking at him which was a sign that this was definitely something they needed to talk about.

"It's nothing, Fitz." Frankie said, trying to reassure him though it wasn't going to work. There was a pregnant pause and the tension between Liv and Fitz grew as the seconds ticked on.

"I think we should call it a night." Harrison said as he stood up and stretched. Frankie nodded and stood up alongside of him and grabbed Liv's hand, pulling her up from her seat.

"Liv, walk us to the door? It was great to see you Fitz. Thanks for dinner and thank you for loving my sister." Frankie said as she bent down and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled slightly and nodded.

* * *

Once they reached the car, Harrison jumped into the driver's side and started the engine leaving the women to talk.

"Liv, I can't believe you didn't tell him!" Frankie whispered harshly to her sister.

"I didn't know how to! How was I supposed to bring up the fact that I would be seeing m ex-fiancé when we get to Paris? He didn't need to know because nothing is going to happen. I've been over Marcello for years!" Liv said as she looked over her shoulder, noticing that Fitz was standing in the doorway.

"You better tell him the truth. He loves you and he deserves that much." Frankie said as she kissed her sister on the cheek. She patted her on the shoulder and walked around to the passenger side of the car. Harrison waved and pulled off into the night.

* * *

"What was that about?" Fitz asked as they walked back into the house.

"Fitz it's nothing. Harrison doesn't like Marcello. He never has. It's no big deal." Liv said as she made her way to the kitchen. She noticed the Fitz brought in all of the plates and wine glasses and had them soaking in the sink. She prepared to start washing when she felt Fitz grab her by the arm and pull her into him.

"What is wrong with you?" Liv asked as he pressed her into the fridge.

"You're lying to me. Why?" Fitz asked. Fire blazed in his eyes. Confusion and hurt etched on his face.

"Fitz…"

"No!" His voice was loud and it frightened her. When she flinched at his voice he pulled away from her and walked around to the other side of the island.

"Was he an old boyfriend? Did you love him?" Fitz asked in a low voice as he looked at the floor. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. He'd frightened her and he was rough with her. "Do you still love him?"

"Baby please, it's not like that." Liv said as she moved towards him. He brought up his hand in protest.

"Then what is it Liv? Why didn't you tell me about him?" She didn't say anything.

"So you're not going to tell me?" He asked. She didn't know what to say. "Great. Have fun on your trip." Fitz said as he brushed past her and made his way to his office.

"Fitz! Fitz, wait!" Liv called after him but he didn't turn around. He slammed the door to his office and locked it behind himself. He needed a moment. He needed time to think.

Liv felt horrible. She honestly didn't know what to do or think. She never wanted to hurt him but she also didn't want to talk about her past with Marcello. It was something she just didn't discuss. The look in his eyes when he pinned her against the fridge was one she was sure she'd never forget. He was so hurt and confused. They didn't keep things from each other and they didn't lie about things. It wasn't what they believed in. Liv was shaking. She felt horrible. Why didn't she just tell him?

"I'm sorry…" Liv managed to say as a sob escaped her mouth. She grabbed her stomach and sunk down to the floor. She couldn't help but feel miserable. She had no right to cry, she was the one who messed things up. He wouldn't forgive her. She just had a feeling. He probably thought she was only going to Paris to fuck him. To fuck Marcello and get away with it. He'd be none the wiser. That is what scared her the most. Did he think she would do that to him? Cheat on him? Yes. They'd only been dating for a week and a half. He doesn't know her. They don't know each other.

* * *

It seemed like hours. She'd been sitting on the floor sobbing, still to inebriated to drive home, not that she wanted to leave. She couldn't leave things the way they were. She needed to talk to him. She needed to fix it. Tell him that she had no intention of cheating on him, of sleeping with the man that broke her heart all those years ago. She needed to tell him over and over again that she loved him and she meant it.

"_Marcello?" Liv called once she walked into his apartment. They'd been engaged for almost a year and we're just starting the wedding plans. Liv had been at the wedding planners all morning coming up with different ideas for the reception and she couldn't wait to show Marcello. _

"_Liv! Hey I've been trying to call you." Marcello said as he walked into the living room. He kissed her on the cheek and led her over to the couch. _

"_I need to talk to you about something." His voice was soft and somewhat sad._

"_What? What's wrong baby?" Liv asked as she moved to snuggle into him. Marcello pulled her close and kissed her on the top of her head. _

"_Liv, I have some shitty news and I needed to tell you before we go any further. Before we walk down the aisle I need to tell you some things." _

"_Okay?" Liv said slightly concerned. _

"_Well, when we were dating, that month when you were in London I got a call from University in Paris. They wanted me to come and interview for a position they had open, Dean of Modern History." _

"_That's great! What happened?" _

"_Well they flew me out immediately and I interviewed for the position. They offered it to me right on the spot. I start in three months." _

"_Baby that's wonderful! Why didn't you tell me?" Liv asked as she smacked his arm playfully. _

"_Because there is more." He sighed and pulled from her embrace, standing in front of the couch. "While I was there I went out with a couple of the professors that are there, trying to get to know them and understand more about the university before I accepted. We got extremely drunk and…" He paused and turned away from her. Liv could feel herself becoming sick. _

"_You cheated on me. Didn't you?" Liv said as she closed her eyes. _

"_I never meant for it to happen. I felt, I feel horrible." Marcello turned around to face Liv. He knew he'd hurt her and he felt horrible about that. _

"_Baby I'm sorry…"_

"_Wait. We got engaged the weekend I got back from that trip. So that's why you asked me to marry you? Out of guilt? You're a bastard!" Liv yelled as she got up from the couch and walked into his bedroom. _

"_Liv! Wait, please. I'm sorry." _

"_Sorry for what? Sorry that you cheated or sorry that you used that little fact to play with my emotions and ask me to marry you knowing that the only reason you did so was so that I wouldn't leave you?" Liv couldn't think straight. She paced in circles around the room as she spoke. Marcello tried to grab her, to stop her movements but she pulled away from him. _

"_NO! You don't get to touch me. You fucked someone else and lied to me!"_

"_Liv we were having problems! You were gone and I was stupid. I'm sorry."_

"_How many times?"_

"_What?"_

"_How many times did you fuck her?"_

"_Liv I…"_

"_No. You've been going to Paris every month for the past six months. You said you were working on something at the Louvre but you never told me what. So, you've been seeing her. She's your what? Your mistress? Or just your whore?"_

"_Damn it, Liv." His face grew red with anger. _

"_Oh! Really you're mad that I called her a whore?" Liv was furious. She walked out of the room and grabbed her keys off of the coffee table. _

"_Olivia where are you going?"_

"_I'm leaving. I can't even look at you." Liv slipped her engagement ring off of her finger. She looked at the diamond and the size of it. Massive and sparkling in the sunlight. "I don't need this anymore." She said as she threw it at him, grabbed her bag and opened the door. _

"_Olivia stop! Just, I know I should have told you. I know I shouldn't have asked you to marry me but what do you want me to do? Tell me what to do to make it better. I love you. I love you!" Marcello had tears in his eyes. She knew he loved her but what kind of life could they have if he continuously cheated. If he had a mistress on the side._

"_I want you to move to Paris. I want you to take the job and be happy. Be with your whore and leave me the hell alone." Liv said as she slammed the door behind her. _

* * *

"Liv?" She heard his voice and looked up from her crumpled position on the floor.

"Hi." She said weakly.

"Hi." He took in her position on the floor. Her eyes puffy and read, a bottle of wine next to her. She looked so tiny and fragile in that moment. She tried to straighten herself up, to not look as upset as she was but she didn't honestly care.

"I'm sorry." She whispered as she dropped her eyes from his, grey and dull. Lacking any emotion.

"I know. I'm sorry too." Fitz said as he leaned on the frame of the entrance of the kitchen.

"Why are…"

"I yelled at you. I scared you. I'm sorry for that. I hate… It won't happen again." Fitz said as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed two bottles of water. He walked slowly over to her and sat down next to her tiny frame, handing her the plastic container.

"Thank you." She said as she took it from him. "I deserved it. I should have told you that Marcello and I were more than friends. I could see how upset you were but I couldn't- I don't like to talk about it. He broke my heart." Liv said as she nearly took a large sip from her water bottle. Fitz let out a heavy sigh.

"You should have told me, Liv. We don't hide things from each other. We've both been hurt enough and we don't need- you should have told me." Fitz said as he leaned his head back against the cabinets looking at the ceiling.

"I know that. I didn't tell you because it didn't matter. He means nothing to me. He contacted me out of the blue and asked if I could come to Paris. He needed someone to fill the commission and he knew I would do it. I love art and teaching so he called me. I never was- I'm not going to cheat on you, Fitz." Liv said as she turned her head to look at him.

"Fitz? Please say something." His only response was to close his eyes. He was tired and hurt but he believed her. He needed her to say it.

"Baby please listen to me. I don't love him" Liv said as she grabbed his hand. When he didn't retract from her grip she placed a light kiss on his knuckles.

"We were engaged for a six months and one day I came home and he decided that he should come clean about himself. He'd been cheating on me. The whole time we were engaged he'd been going to Paris every month, claiming to be working but in reality he'd been with Simone. I don't want him, Fitz." Liv said as she kissed his knuckles again. Fitz turned his head and finally looked at her. He scrunched his face in confusion as he looked into her eyes.

"Livvie?" He asked. Liv let out a sigh of relief at the term of endearment.

"Yes?"

"I don't like Marcello either." Liv let out a breathy laugh as she nodded her head in agreement. A tear escaped her and Fitz kissed it away. The kiss burned her skin in the best of ways. She closed her eyes at the sensation, her breath hitched when the kiss moved from its starting point on her cheek to her pulse point. His hands moved to her waist as he pulled her into his lap. She straddled him and wrapped her arms around his neck as he continued to kiss every inch of her exposed neck.

"I love you. I'm sorry baby. I'm so sorry." Liv whispered into his neck. Fitz stopped his actions and leaned up to look her in the eyes.

"I love you too. Just promise me. Promise that you won't keep things from me. I don't need that. I had that with Mellie and I don't want that for us. I need us to be different. "

"I promise." Liv said as she stared into his deep grey orbs.


	8. Chapter 8

**Here you go loves! Chapter 8 is up! I've been STRUGGLING with how I wanted this chapter to go and I finally feel good about this one. So here you go! This skips over most of Liv's work but we do meet Marcello and Fitz and Harrison go to Greece. Yay! Happy reading and reviews are always welcome! Xoxo (oh, there are like two Greek words used in this. They literally translate to love and mother. Nothing serious) **

**I don't own it! **

* * *

"_I don't want you to leave." Fitz said as he pulled Liv in close to him. Her back pressed firmly against his chest as they watched the sun rise. _

"_Mmmmm, I'll be back in three days." She said as she relaxed into his touch. _

"_Yes, but you'll be busy and I'll barely get to see you." Fitz said as he nuzzled his nose into her neck. She smelled like roses and her skin was just as soft. She turned in his arms and snuggled deeper into his body. She didn't want to go but she had work to do, she had to do these portraits. It was less than a month. Three weeks she would go without seeing him, smelling him, being in his arms. But it was only three weeks. He would spend the last week with her in Greece and they would spend the evenings together and they could just be. _

"_I love you." She mumbled into his chest. She sighed deeply as he ran his arms over her back, running small circles into her skin, branding her with his touch. _

"_I love you more, Livvie." A silence washed over them as they watched the sun move into the sky, lighting the horizon. Fitz loved the soft glow that the sun gave his lovers skin. She looked like a goddess, her hair in loose natural curls falling around her face and down her back, the crisp white sheet that was loosely draped around her body a beautiful contrast to the bronze glow of her sun kissed skin. A smile spread across his face when he let his mind drift to what could be. _

_Light brown locks, curly and wild. Tan skin, a color that warms his heart. Grey eyes that pierce your soul and melt your heart. Laughter, so much laughter and love filled in a house, no, a home that was built for the sole purpose of containing said love. Nourishing it and letting it flourish. A woman whose hart is so big at the root. Her spirit filling the air as she laughs with their children. A boy and a girl, both the spitting image of their mother with certain striking features from their father. Everything he wanted in life. They were all he wanted and he couldn't be happier. _

"_Where are you?" He heard her voice as she brought him out of his daydream. Her hands on his face pulling his focus down to her. _

"_I'm sorry baby. Daydreaming." He said as he smiled down at her. _

"_You wanna tell me?" She asked as she stroked his cheek with her thumb. _

* * *

It had been more than a week since they'd seen each other. Even though they talked every day it wasn't the same. For some reason he felt like they weren't the same. He regretted what he'd done every moment since he uttered those words. "_I want to marry you, Livvie." _He shook his head in disgust. They barely knew each other. Why did he say those words out loud? So here he was. Three in the morning, sitting at his computer as he wrote everything that that filled his brain.

Dozens of scenarios were playing on a loop in his mind. What if she didn't want to actually be with him? What if she didn't love him the way he loved her? What if she went back to Marcello? That was what worried him. She'd had her meeting with him two days ago and all he got out of it was that things went well and that she had to think about if she wanted to accept the position. Nothing more and nothing less. He wanted to ask Frankie but how would that look? No. Marcello was a fool and cheated on her. She wouldn't get back with him. We love each other. We're in love with each other.

* * *

"Liv!" Marcello said as she walked to the table he'd reserved for their meeting.

"Hi. How have you been?" Liv said as she took a seat. Although she was completely over him Liv couldn't help but wonder about how he was doing. He was her first real love and you never forget that. They kept very little contact but from time to time they would email back and forth.

"I'm well Liv. You look amazing! Spain is treating you well I see." Marcello said as he poured her a glass of her favorite wine. He was definitely on a mission to get her to take the position.

"Spain is great. You look good! How's Simone?" Liv asked as she looked over the menu.

"She's good. She's and art buyer now so she's busy traveling but she's good. We're good." Marcello said somewhat unconvincingly. Liv took notice of it but she didn't want to pry. She cared but not enough to delve into the relationship of her ex-fiancé and the woman he cheated with.

"That's good. So, what's up this this position? Give me all of the details." Liv said trying to get off of personal lives and move on to business. She didn't want to spend too much time with him. She'd promised Fitz she would call right after the meeting and she didn't want to call him three hours later.

Knowing that she was over the topic of personal lives Marcello pulled out his portfolio and all of the paperwork she would need to look over and sign before she took the position.

"So that's everything." Marcello said as he finished his glass of wine.

"This is way more demanding than you made it out to be. Cell, I don't think I can manage this and work with the foundation and still maintain my relationship with the many art galleries in Spain that I'm working with."

"C'mon Liv it's a great opportunity! You'd still be working with students and you'll be creating just in a different way."

"Yeah but I would need to be here half of the year. That's a big commitment." There was a point in her life when something like this wouldn't bother her. She would pack up and rent an apt and live half of the year in Paris. Easy. But now, now things were different. She didn't want to leave Spain. She didn't want to leave Frankie and her work and most of all Fitz. He'd fallen in love with the city and her. She sighed and looked over the paperwork again. As much as she loved the idea she couldn't take her mind off of Fitz. It pissed her off. She loved him whole heartedly but this was the reason she wasn't in a relationship before, freedom.

"Look, Liv. I know we didn't end on the best of terms and I know you probably still hate me but I wouldn't bring this to you if I didn't think it would enhance your career. This is a good thing babe." Marcello said as he took her hand in his. She immediately drew her hand back.

"Liv?"

"I need to think things over. I have some good things happening in Spain but, maybe. I'll let you know in a week or two." Liv placed all of the paperwork in her bag and got up from the table.

"Give Simone my best."

* * *

"What's going on with you?" Frankie asked as they walked along the shoreline. Greece was beautiful and hot, just the way they liked it. They'd been coming to this island for the past five years and they would never tire of it. They owned two houses that were situated on one piece of land about a five minute walk away from the beach. Both houses were located on the cliff above and a long staircase that wound down the cliff side led to the beach, where they were now.

"What do you mean? Nothing's going on." Liv said. Never making eye contact with her sister.

"Something is definitely up with you, Liv. Fitz is coming in about two hours and you're acting like you don't want to see him. You say you miss him and yet every time I bring him up you shrug me off like he's not important."

"Frankie…"

"No. I'm going to keep prying." Frankie said as she grabbed her sister's arm stopping her dead in her tracts. Liv turned to her sister finally making eye contact. Frankie could see the worry in her sister's eyes, ever telling.

"Liv, "her voice soothing and soft "tell me what's wrong."

"He said he wants to marry me, Frankie. He didn't say when or how long from now or ask how I felt about it he just said it." She breathed out quickly as if the words carried the weight of the world.

"Whoa. Really? Liv you've known each other for a month. When did he say this?"

"Before we left but that's only part of the issue."

"Okay?"

"This job offer at University is much more demanding than I was originally told. Fucking Marcello. And I would take the job, I would have but…"

"Fitz."

"Fitz." Liv plopped down into the sand and buried her face in her hands. This whole ordeal was stressing her out so much that her nightmares were returning and she was getting less and less sleep.

"I don't know what to do Frank. I don't know what I want do. I love Fitz but…" Frankie bent down and pulled Liv's hands away from her face.

"Liv calm down! Have you told him about the conditions of the job?"

"No."

"Well then what the hell sis! Calm down. You're already trying to push him away…" Liv tried to cut her off but Frankie was determined to get what she had to say out. "And you haven't even told him about it. You need to give him a chance. Fitz loves you. He is madly in love with you, Olivia." Frankie practically yelled. Her voice echoing out into the open air. There was a defining silence around them.

"You know I can't sleep without him anymore." Liv slowly croaked out. "I was independent and strong and fine by myself but Fitz- he walked into my life and literally turned my world upside down. My heart, my mind, and my body belongs to him. Frankie that scares the shit out of me." She sobbed. "I don't want to tell him because I'm afraid that he won't want to move to Paris, to know that I'll be around Marcello every day. That even if he's okay with those things but doesn't want to move we'll barely see each other for six months. Six months! I can hardly bare being away from him for a few weeks." Frankie sat down next to her sister and pulled her into a hug.

"Liv you need to talk to him. He'll listen and if he loves you as much as I think he does, he'll be fine. You'll work it out because that's what people in relationships do. You talk about things and you work it out. Don't stress until there is actually something to stress about. Now, let your heart guide you. When that man gets here you'll know."

* * *

Liv was standing on the patio looking out into the dimly lit sky when he found her. Her over-sized sweater engulfing her small frame, arms tightly crossed in an attempt to keep out the cool night air, her legs bare. She looked beautiful. He stood there, taking in the sight of her and burning it into his memory. After a few moments he spoke.

"Hey you." His deep baritone voice filling the air. Her body reacted immediately. A breath she didn't know she was holding escaped from her body as she turned to look at him.

"Fitz." His name falling from her lips in a whisper, holding so much. She ran to him. The distance was short but it was distance none the less and she needed him. She needed to be in his arms.

His arms wrapped around her frame as she jumped into him. Her legs wrapping tightly around his waist and her arms around his neck, home.

"I missed you so much." She mumbled against his neck. She nuzzled her nose into his neck and took in his scent. Fitz sighed at the feel of her in his arms. Her body latched onto him, giving him a purpose. Giving him a sense of belonging.

"I missed you too baby. You have no idea how much." He whispered into her ear. For the past few weeks he could have sworn that she was slowly slipping away from him. She seemed distant at times and it scared him but now, having her in his arms, her legs wrapped tightly around him and her lips pressing soft kisses into his neck he knew that they would be okay.

Liv burned a trail of soft kisses up his neck and across his jawline making her way to his lips. The lips she longed for on a daily basis. The lips that set her skin ablaze when they made contact with any part of her body. She kissed him fully on the mouth. The familiar jolt of need running through both of their systems at the contact. Fitz moved an arm from around her waist and cradled her head in his hand. Her tongue snaked out, grazing his lips prompting him to part them. A moan escaped her mouth when his tongue met hers. The kiss was deep and full of need. Three weeks of void manifesting in a single kiss. Her hands moved to his hair, her slender fingers raking through his curls as he hungrily nipped at her bottom lip.

"Hey, you two, save that shit for later!" Harrison yelled in the distance. Dinner. They were supposed to be going out to dinner with one of the families Liv was working with, they'd invited all of them. She completely forgot about it when saw Fitz.

"Fuck!" she said in a harsh whisper causing Fitz to chuckle. "I'm sorry babe. I completely forgot about this dinner." She unwrapped her legs and tried to slide down his body but he continued to hold her.

"Babe?" She questioned, staring into his deep grey eyes.

"I love you, Livvi." He said with all the conviction in the world. The words she'd heard more than a dozen times from this man suddenly shook her to the core.

"I love you too, Fitz." She said with everything in her. She meant it with all of her heart and her only hope was that he knew it, that he would always know. Fitz kissed her gently and then set her down.

"I'll only be a moment. You're going to love this family, babe. The couple I'm drawing have been married for almost 30 years and they're beautiful." Fitz smiled at her excitement and when she turned to leave he smacked her lightly on the butt causing a squeal of delight to erupt from her.

* * *

Dinner was great. They feasted on the traditional foods of the Greek island of Santorini and drank copious amounts of ouzo as they listened to the many stories and mythical histories of the lands. The four of them were enthralled with a story of one of the son's fight with a wild boar on the island when music started to fill the room. Two men were playing traditional music and everyone in the room got up to dance. Harrison grabbed Frankie and pulled her to the dance floor. Fitz stood up and stuck out his hand.

"Shall we?" He said his voice husky from laughter and his slight inebriation. Liv grinned at him as she placed her hand in his.

"I'd love to." With that Fitz pulled her into his arms and made their way to the dance floor. The whole thing was magical and all eyes were on them. They had an aura that drew everyone's eyes to them as they moved around the floor. Flirting but barely touching. Moving in sync as they danced to the ever changing music. Many of the older couples held knowing smiles on their faces. They knew love when they saw it but this, this magnetism that they held for one another was something God could only create.

When the music died down a bit Olivia went over to chat more with Nickoli and Maria, a couple she had grown to know and love over the years.

"Olivia! Are you enjoying yourself?" Maria asked as she kissed Liv on the cheek.

"Yes, we all are. Thank you for inviting us."

"Of course we would invite you! You and your sister come and see us once a year and we have to make the most of it." Nickoli teased. Liv and Frankie rented one of the hotel rooms in the hotel the couple owned five years ago and they became instant friends.

"Well thank you anyway." Liv said with a smile. There was a beat of silence and Olivia's eyes drifted over the dance floor looking for Fitz. He was sitting at a table across the room with a few of the younger kids that were there. They were playing a game and they enlisted him to be on one of the teams.

"He's a great guy, Philia." Maria said as she eyed him over Liv's shoulder. Liv could only smile and nod her head yes in response.

"I like him. He's strong and very handsome. He has a good heart and he loves you. I can tell." Nickoli said as he took a sip of his ouzo. "You have never invited a man to any family gatherings. We know we're not necessarily family but we love you like our own. That Marcello you were engaged to? You never brought him to us. But him?" the old man said knowingly.

"Do you love him, Philia?" Maria asked as she placed a hand over Olivia's.

"Yes. I love him with all of my heart, mana." Maria pulled Liv close to her and gave her a loving peck on the cheek.

"So when you get married you'll have the ceremony here. It's settled." Nickoli said as he rose from the table. Maria and Liv laughed as the older man walked away. They watched him cross the room and Pull Fitz from his seat. With a protective arm around him, Nickoli guided him away from the kids and sat him directly next to Liv. Fitz smiled and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"You two would make beautiful babies." Maria said as she looked over them. Liv gasped at her friends, eyes wide and mouth open, while Fitz chuckled under his breath.

"Maria you embarrass her! We'll leave you two alone. Olivia you have to bring him to our home and we'll cook for him. Just us so we can really catch up." Nickoli said as he grabbed his wife's hand, leading her away from the couple.

"Good night, goneas." Liv turned her attention back to Fitz who had a cheesy grin on his face. Liv rolled her eyes knowing that his mind was focused on babies.

"No. We're not even married yet!" Fitz quirked and eyebrow at her.

"Yet? So does that mean that you'll marry me someday?" He pulled her close to him and nuzzled his nose gently against hers. She smiled lightly before she answered.

"Maybe. We'll see where life takes us." Fitz quickly kissed her before standing up.

"Where are you going?"

"You mean "we". Lets go have some fun of our own."There was a distinct twinkle in his eyes that she couldn't help but notice. Liv bit her bottom lip, playing coy as she pretended to think over his offer. She did a scan of the room and noticed that Harrison and Frankie were nowhere to be found so they didn't need to alert anyone they were leaving. Perfect. She got up quickly, grabbing his hand as she did, and led them out of the dinner party. Before they were fully out of the door Fitz pulled her back into him and hoisted her light frame over his shoulder.

"Fitz!" Liv giggled as smacked her ass lightly.

* * *

They were barely through the door of the house before Olivia's dress hit the ground. The flimsy material fell easily off of her body as she worked at Fitz's pants. His shirt had been removed, discarded somewhere near the front door. Their lips searching, tongues licking, mouth's tasting. They were hungry for each other. Once Fitz's boxers hit the floor, he pulled Liv into him hoisting her up before pressing them into the nearest wall. Liv moaned at the contact. She wrapped her legs around his waist as his mouth worked its way down her body. Dipping his head he took one of her hardening nipples into his mouth, playing with it, rolling and flicking his tongue.

"Oh baby." Liv moaned. Fitz's hands were restless as he moved them up and down her bare legs before making his way to her firm ass. Squeezing it roughly.

"I missed you so much baby." He breathed into her ear as he ground his erection into her. "I missed making love to you. Making you moan when I touch you like this." His hand slipping into the scrap of fabric she called panties. Her breath hitched as he cupped her heat and a soft breathy moan escaped her lips when he gently slid a finger up her slit, stopping at her mound and applying just enough pressure to send a shock to her system. He wanted to tease her but his throbbing erection was making it difficult for him to concentrate. Liv was struggling as well. All she wanted for the past three weeks was for him to be inside of her. She'd held off on masturbating because she knew that she couldn't satisfy herself the way that he could. He played her body like an instrument and after having a taste of what his thickness had to offer she couldn't go back to her trusty vibrator.

"Fitz I need you inside of me. Please fuck me baby." A Cheshire grin spread across his face at her words. He quickly moved the thin fabric to the side and placed his throbbing cock at her entrance. His heat radiated against her and she bit her lip in anticipation.

"Fitz." She whimpered as he slowly lowered her onto him. Her slick wet heat taking him in fully. She was so tight, tighter than he remembered. Her walls pulsed in anticipation as he stretched her out.

"Fuck!" She yelled as he stroked deep inside of her. Her hands clawing at his back and shoulders leaving red marks, marks that turned him on even more. He pressed her body firmly onto the wall and lifted her legs from around his waist and onto his shoulders. Liv gasped at the angle, his cock slipping deeper into her depths. She almost came then and there but he pulled out of her completely.

"No. Don't stop. Please keep going… Fitz." She breathed as her eyes fluttered open. Once her eyes met his he winked at her and plunged powerfully, relentlessly into her.

"You're so tight Livvie. Damn baby…" Fitz mumbled gruffly as he plunged into her over and over again. Liv's high pitched moans, her pulsing pussy and her fingernails that were currently digging into his ass egged him on. He brought his mouth down to hers hungrily, nipping and sucking on her as he fucked her.

"Yes, yes, yes… oh… babe… I'm so close." Fitz thundered into her, keeping his thrusts deep, pushing her further and further over the edge.

"Come baby. Come for me." He whispered against her lips. As if on cue her orgasm ripped through her body like lightening. Her walls clamped down on him hard pulling his release from him as well both overcome with pleasure, silent exclamations of pleasure poring from their mouth's.

After a few moments and more than a few deep breaths Fitz gently let Liv's legs down. She knew that from the position she was in her legs would be numb, which they were, but her whole body was useless after her orgasmic high.

"Babe, I can't move." Liv giggled as Fitz removed himself from with her. He chuckled slightly and they both slid onto the cool floor, their bodies in a tangled, sweaty mass. They stayed like that her playing with his chest hair and him holding her closely. They both sighed and smiled, always in sync.

"I'm so happy that you're in my arms again. Can you not go on month long trips anymore?" He said jokingly. Liv tensed in his arms at the joke. She'd hoped to hold off on telling him until the end of the week but she knew that holding off would only make it worse. She looked at him, his eyes curious as to what was bothering her, as she pried herself from his arms and moved to the couch. Fitz sat up and watched her. She sat, legs tucked under her, the moonlight spilling into the room outlining her features.

"What's wrong Liv?" he asked as he got up from the floor and moved to sit next to her. "You've been acting strangely for the past few weeks. I know something is bothering you so just tell me." He rubbed her arm, trying to soothe and encourage. She took a deep breath and turned to him, placing her hand on his cheek and stroking it lovingly with her thumb.

"There is nothing wrong in terms of us. I'm so happy and I'm so in love with you that it killed me to be away from you for so long. I know I've been weird lately but It's just how I get when I'm stressed. There are a lot of things on my plate and sometimes I slip up and forget to be a good friend, sister, or girlfriend. I'm sorry if you've felt neglected or if I've been pushing you away, this is just new for me. In my previous relationships I was able to function easily without them and them without me for an extended amount of time. I mean I definitely missed them but nothing in comparison to you. I can't sleep without you. You are constantly on my mind and when you're not with me I miss you. " She smiled as he leaned into her touch, placing his hand lovingly over hers. In that moment everything, all of his worries, seemed to fall away.

"So what's stressing you out? Talk to me and maybe I can help." Fitz said as she pulled her into his lap, her small body fitting perfectly against him.

"It's this position at University. It was originally supposed to be a summer thing. Two months of working with me and going to museums and giving lectures. Three times a week. Easy, right?" Fitz nodded his head in agreement. "But now It's six months, full time professor of Art. Three days a week with everything I just said but I would have to live in Paris. I would be required to be at meetings and discuss curriculum and be an actual professor. For six months! I don't- I can't do this. I have so many wonderful things going on in Spain and I have you. I can't…"

"Wait, Liv you shouldn't factor me into this. I can do whatever. If you're in Paris I'll be in Paris. We can work things out. I'm a writer remember? I work from home and home is anywhere you are. So I don't think that's what's really bothering you."

"I just- being in Paris would mean being around Marcello and working with him all of the time. I don't want to deal with that. We're friends but I get the feeling that his offering me this position was more than he was letting on." It was Fitz's turn to tense. He pulled her away from his chest and looked into her eyes.

"You know I'm a very jealous man." Fitz said with a halfhearted grin. Liv kissed him fully on the lips.

"I Know. But I'm a very faithful woman and I only have eyes for you."

"Do you really want this position?" He asked seriously.

"I don't know. Maybe?" She shrugged as she nestled back into his chest.

"Well whatever you decide I'll be there for you. Just know that if you decide to take the position I'm going to need to make it very clear to Marcello that you are mine." Liv felt a shiver go through her spine, she liked it when Fitz was possessive. She shifted in his arms again, this time straddling him as she pressed her body into his. Her body responding to his partially erect member as she rubbed her center up and down his shaft.

"I am yours." He groaned at her slick heat on him. He instinctively grabbed her hips, branding her with his fingers as he guided her up and down. She kissed him passionately, her fingers raking through his curls as he lifted her up and settled her back down, penetrating her, burying himself to the hilt.

They made love, slow and steady, drinking each other in as they listened to the mixture of the crashing waves and their moans of pleasure. The salty air smelling of sex and sweat. Everything was perfect. They were together and they were happy.


	9. Chapter 9

Since the boys arrived in Greece two days ago Liv hadn't seen head nor tail of Frankie or Harrison. Granted she'd been busy and any free time she did have she spent it with Fitz, but she at least expected to see her for dinner or even respond to her texts with more than one word. She assumed that her sister was just giving them alone time but what was the fun of having hot sex if you couldn't share it with your best friends?

"Have you talked to Harrison or Frankie?" It was Sunday and Liv had nothing planned for the day. She decided that she wanted to spend the morning in bed and Fitz agreed, willingly, to join her. So there they were, snuggled up together, her head resting on his chest as he stroked her back.

"No. Come to think about it I haven't seen them since dinner a few nights ago."

"Me either. I know their alive because Frankie at least responds to my texts but she won't answer when I call, same for Harrison."

"Maybe they're giving us alone time?"

"Please, Frankie likes to hear all of the dirty details about you and me so alone time isn't something she would give me."  
"You and Frankie talk about us?"

"Yes. Harrison too…"

"Livvie." Fitz groaned "That's not something I want Harrison to know."

"Why not? He's my best friend and adopted brother so he gets all the dirty details just like Frankie. Whether he wants them or not." She giggled as Fitz rolled his eyes.

"In that case maybe it's best that you haven't seen them." Fitz said before rolling them over, him on top resting comfortably between her legs as he kissed her deeply. Liv's heart fluttered at the action. It was something he did that sent her body into overdrive. She would instantly ache for him. Her fingers raked through his sleep ridden curls, she could feel herself getting lost in him and she needed to control the situation if they were going to do anything semi productive today.

"If we're going to go find Frankie and Harrison and force them to hang out with us I'm going to need you to stop doing that." She whispered against his lips.

"Doing what?" He said playfully. He knew very well what he was doing. He knew she couldn't resist him and once he kissed her like he'd just done, running his hands over her naked body. He smiled wickedly and without warning, he reached down and pulled her legs up, tossing them over his shoulders as his hardening member pressed directly into her core.

"Fitz." She gasped loudly as a wave of sensations washed over her body.

"Tell me you want me to stop. If you say stop I'll go take a cold shower and we'll go look for the dynamic duo." He mumbled into her neck as he burned a trail of wet kisses along her sensitive spot there. Her only response was a moan and he knew then that they would be staying in bed a while longer.

* * *

It was just after one in the afternoon when Liv made her way over to the house that was located only a few dozen feet away from where theirs was. It didn't have a great view of the ocean but the view of the mountainous terrain more than made up for that. It was larger than their house, two stories verses their one, and there was a pool located off the back of it on the upper deck. She walked up to the front door and knocked a few times, no answer. She knew they were there, Frankie's car was still in the driveway and there was music coming from the house. She tried the door knob and realized that it was unlocked.

"Frankie?" She called as she walked into the house. No response.

"Harrison? Where are you guys?" Liv called again as she moved through the house. She knew they probably couldn't hear her because the music was extremely loud. She roamed through the house, bopping her head to the music as she looked around. She walked up the stairs and at the top of the landing there was a shirt, Harrison's shirt to be exact. Not too far away from that were a pair of lacey underwear and a pair of men's jeans. She paused at the top of the stairs, eyes wide as she took in the carelessly thrown clothing.

"Oh my God." She whispered under her breath. She tried to turn and leave, to pretend that she was just imagining things but then she herd it. The distinct sounds of moans and heavy panting. "They're sleeping together?" She said to herself in disbelief. Her sister and their best friend, the man who'd become like a brother to them, were sleeping together. She wanted to run, to get out of this house of fornication but she couldn't. Her body kept moving forward, curious to see if it was real. Were they really having sex or was it someone else panting and moaning? Maybe her sister was with another guy? Maybe Harrison had a girl over?

"Harrison, oh…" Was said loudly accompanied by a series of high pitched moans and the sound of a body hitting the wall over and over and over… "Frankie you're so tight, baby." Liv rolled her eyes in disgust. It was them. She continued to the slightly ajar door of the room they were defiling and without any hesitation opened it completely. As soon as she walked in she regretted it. There they were, up against a wall. Harrison completely naked thrusting with abandon into Frankie whose skirt was hiked up high on her waist, legs wrapped tightly around him and her face contorted in pleasure.

"Oh God, Ew." She said out loud. All movements stopped. A look of horror and embarrassment passed over their faces but they were more or less too shocked to move. Liv just stared at them. Her face was blank but her eyes bore into them as she looked at them in the most compromising of positions for an extremely uncomfortable amount of time before turning on her heels and walking out of the room.

"Damn it." They both uttered as they watched her leave.

* * *

"I don't understand the big deal." Fitz said as they sat out on the overlook eating lunch. Liv scoffed and looked at him with a veil of annoyance.

"The big deal is that things will change! What happens when they don't work out? What happens when Harrison puts his foot in his mouth or cheats on her? We've known Harrison most of our lives and we know how he's treated his girlfriends in the past. Hell, he just got out of a long term relationship. I don't want Frankie to be the rebound. She is much more than that and deserves better than that."

"Who's to say that Harrison won't change for Frankie? He has known Frankie and they've been friends so they already know what they're getting in to. They are adults who made and adult decision to start a relationship. We don't even know how far that relationship goes. Maybe they're just fuck buddies?" Fits said with a smile and Liv rolled her eyes at the suggestion. They sat in silence for a moment while Fitz watched Olivia's mind work and process everything. He debated on whether or not he should tell her about the time he caught them in the kitchen. Maybe it would help her to decide where they were in their relationship. Suddenly there was a snicker of laughter that brought him out of his thoughts.

"Livvie?" Fitz said, confusion etched across his face. She covered her mouth and tried to compose herself.

"What's so funny?"

"They are! Baby you should have seen their faces when I walked in on them. That's all I can see… and Harrison's naked ass." She giggled. Fitz smiled and chuckled at her.

"I can't believe you walked in on them."

"I couldn't help it! The music was blaring but Frankie was so loud that you could hear her over the music. I was drawn to it like a moth to a flame."

"You're a nosy one."

"I am." She smiled as she sipped on her tea.

"So you're not upset or…?"

"No. I'm not upset. I just- I hope it works out. Frankie and Harrison are my family and I want them to be happy. If this makes them happy, so be it." She said as she got up from her seat and walked over to Fitz.

"Let's go for a swim." She smiled.

"Let me go change and we can go."

"Hmmm I was thinking more along the lines of skinny dipping. Private beach, sunny day, hot boyfriend, naked hot boyfriend." She giggled as she pulled off her romper exposing her nearly naked body, only a lacy thong covering her. Fitz smiled slyly and started to strip. Before he could get his boxers off Liv had started off down the stairs leading to the beach. Fitz watched the swish of her hips, her perfect skin glistening in the sunlight. He sighed contently and followed behind her. "This woman is going to be the death of me." He thought to himself.

"Fitz!" Liv screamed as he lifted her up out of the water and over his head.

"Say it again or I'm throwing you in." He laughed and she smiled down at him trying to contain her laughter.

"Livvie?" He questioned in a singsong tone. She giggled as she conceded.

"Alright! Alright, you win. Yes, I will move in with you!" She shouted. He smiled wildly and tossed her back into the water, her squeal echoing. When she came back up from the depths she sank she immediately splashed water into his face. She got in a few good splashes before he grabbed her hands and pulled her close to his body.

"Are you serious about this?" He asked as he wrapped his arms tightly around her middle.

"Yes. I am. But only on one condition."

"Anything."

"I'm keeping my loft. I won't be living in it but I need to have a space where I can work and be alone to do so."

"Babe, that's fine with me. As long as you come home to me, that's all I care about." He said with a wicked smile. She kissed him deeply, the taste of the salt water on his lips making her smile.

"I can't believe you bought that property. It's massive and way too big for two people."

"Well…" Fitz said quietly.

"Well what?" she said lightly, raking a hand through his wet curls.

"Well I was hoping that, you know after few years and the time is right, that maybe we could have a few kids?" He questioned not really knowing her position on the subject of kids and out of fear that she might think he was moving too quickly. She only looked at him, her eyes searching.

"I know we- I just, I don't see the rest of my life without you in it. I hope to marry you some day and have a family with you because you're my everything and I…" He was caught off by her lips. She kissed him desperately and lovingly. Everything she felt was poured into that kiss. Her fears, her joy, her hopes for the future. Their future. A sense of calm washed over him. She wanted to be in his life, she wanted kids and a family. She wanted a future with him and in that moment he couldn't want for anything more.

The sun was beginning to set when the two love birds made it back up to the house. They took a shower together, washing away the salt and the sand that had made it's way into unwanted areas. They took their time bathing each other and making out like teenagers until the water started to turn cold. After getting dressed they headed to the kitchen only to find Harrison and Frankie making dinner there.

"Hey guys!" Fitz said cheerfully as he sauntered into the kitchen pulling Olivia willingly behind him.

"Yo Fitz!" Harrison called over his shoulder as he attended to the two chickens we was de-boning. "I'm glad you're here. Can you help me with these?"

"Sure. What are we making tonight?"

"My famous chicken stew."

"Oh, my favorite!" Liv said as she walked up next to Harrison.

"Liv! Hi. Uh, yeah your favorite." Harrison said as he eyed her cautiously. He couldn't tell if she just putting on a front or if she was holding in everything for later. She seemed fine and happy. She smiled and walked over to the table where Frankie was sitting, sipping on a large glass of red wine. She looked up when she saw Olivia sit and slid over the bottle that she'd been working on. Liv poured herself a glass and took as large sip. They sat silently for a moment but Frankie, in need of speaking with her sister, grabbed Liv's hand and pulled her out of the kitchen. Liv followed her outside onto the overlook. They stood in silence for a moment but Frankie suddenly downed her glass of wine and sat it on the table.

"Frankie?" Liv asked out of concern. She'd never seen her sister down a drink like that, even when she broke up with her longtime boyfriend two years ago. She moved to get closer to her sister but Frankie put up a hand and stopped her before she took a deep breath and said everything that was on her mind.

"Liv I know how much you love me and Harrison is like a brother to you, but he means more to me. I know what you're going to say, he's family and what happens when it doesn't work out, but Liv I love him. We've loved each other for such a long time but we were both too stubborn and pigheaded to do anything about it. Well there was this one time, one amazing time when you were at school, but that was it. We never spoke of it again but, he left her. He left her because he couldn't pretend to want to live a life where I wasn't his wife. So we're together. Please don't be upset. I love you. We both do and we don't know what we'd do without you." Frankie was almost blue in the face when she finished her speech.

"Are you finished?" Liv asked as she walked over to here Frankie was standing.

"Yes." She said somewhat impishly.

"Good. Frankie." Liv sighed as she took her sisters hand. "I don't care that you're sleeping with Harrison." Frankie's shocked look made Liv giggle.

"Wait? Really?" She said somewhat breathlessly.

"No. I mean, yes it concerns me because I don't know what to do if you guys break up but what if you are meant to be? Who am I to stop you guys?" Frankie smiled brightly and pulled Liv into a hug. Frankie let out a long sigh of relief.

"Okay then." She said as she pulled back. "Now, how did Fitz take the news of you possibly working with Marcello?"

"He was fine with it. He did say that he would show Marcello who I belong to now." Liv couldn't help but smile. Frankie's face scrunched in distaste for the word "belong".

"Belong? What are you, property? That seems a little possessive." Liv looked at her wide eyed.

"You know Fitz isn't like that." Frankie shrugged her shoulders as Liv gave her a light slap on the arm.

"Yeah, okay."

"Although he does get very possessive in bed which is..." She trailed off with a smile as a tingle shot through her spine at the way he could work her body.

"Okay, eww. No nasty sex talk please and thank you." Liv laughed and hooked her sister's arm in hers as they slowly started towards the house.

"Okay. But you can't talk about sex with Harrison. I've already seen and heard way too much." Frankie blushed and buried her face in her free hand.

"Please, please forget you saw or heard anything. I am traumatized."

"Don't worry I am trying to forget but this image is burned into my corneas! I'm gonna need a lot more wine and a couple rounds of fantastic sex to get that out of my head". Both women giggled as they walked back into the house to enjoy dinner.

* * *

The rest of the week went smoothly. Olivia, being that she was there for work, spent the rest of the week finishing up her portraits and crating them with Frankie and Harrison so they could be shipped to Spain. Fitz used his alone time to get a massive chunk of his book done and making calls to his family and friends back in the states. He was surprised he hadn't heard from Cyrus in more than a few days so he called the old man to make sure things were okay.

"Fitzgerald." Cy answered tersely.

"It's great to hear from you too Cy. How are things state side?"

"Fine, no thanks to you. By the way I got your email of the first five chapters of your book last night. I haven't had a chance to read them yet but I'll get to it once I get to the office."

"Take your time, Cy. I have chapters six through ten but I haven't had a chance to edit them myself yet."

"How long are you planning to make this fucking thing?" Cy asked as if he was in pain.

"Cy it's only going to be twelve chapters, fifteen minimum. What's the big deal? You've been hounding me for months and I'm finally almost done."

"The big deal is that when I looked at the amount of pages that were in chapters one through five I thought that you had finished the book. Fitz it's over three hundred pages of material already! What the hell are you writing, your memoirs?"

"No. I mean. I don't know. They're a collection of thoughts and different things that have happened on my journey for inspiration. A bulk of it recaps my travels and the remainder is about my life here."

"What life there? Fitz, you don't have a life there. Your whole point to this world excursion was to find an inspiration, a muse, and then come back here and run this company! You are not going to throw that away. Your father…"

"My father is an egotistical asshole who doesn't know a damn thing about me or what I want to do. I could care less about running that fucking company. Let someone else do it and then let me live my life. I'm a writer, a damn good one at that. My father, talented though he may be, has nothing to offer me that is of any substance that could make me leave and take over that company." Fitz was irritated. He hated discussing his father and Cyrus knew that. He knew that he was expected to take over Grant Publishing, he was reminded of it every single day of his life when he was still living in NYC.

"Fitzgerald…"

"No. I'm fucking done with this shit. I don't want to hear any more about this. I'll email you the rest of the chapters when I'm done editing them." Fitz hung up the phone and took a deep breath as he sat down on the bed. Burring his head in his hands, he let out a sigh of frustration that was all too familiar when it came to discussing his father. He sat for a few minutes, trying to center himself. He hated that discussing his father brought out his temper, it was something he hated that he couldn't control.

"_Fitzgerald you were born to run this company. You can pretend all you want that you aren't a part of this family, a part of this empire but you will learn. You will learn that once you are of age, once you're ready you will be head of this company."_

"_No, BJ. No. I will not be the King of this fucking hell hole. The Grant Empire can go fuck itself." All Fitz heard was the smack. His face stung and he could taste blood. He should have been used to it. BJ, for most of his life, had been aggressive. Verbally abusive mostly but when he wasn't getting his way, when things were difficult, he used his sheer strength. The back-handed slap was a bitch move and Fitz laughed it off as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. _

"_Fuck you BJ." He said as he walked out of his father's office, slamming and shattering the massive glass door behind him. That was almost fifteen years ago. _

Fitz shook his head, breaking himself out of the bad memories. He hadn't spoken to his father, not directly, since then. He took a look at his watch, it was almost seven and Olivia was due home in only three hours. Tonight was date night and even though he'd promised they'd make a night of it but he didn't want to share her. They'd barely seen each other this past week between her working and running around all day and him staying up all hours of the night writing. There were a few quick but very hot make out sessions in-between but they hadn't spoken, not really, in days. He decided to come up with a romantic evening: candles, music, the ocean, and them.

* * *

When Olivia arrived home later that evening the house was dark. She was confused, they had made plans for this evening. "Where is he?" She said as she walked into the house.

"Fitz?" She called out but was greeted with silence. She sat down her purse and whipped out her cell phone. She was just dialing his number when she heard footsteps behind her. Not just any footsteps, they were his. Distinctly his. Like a predator, circling for the kill. She could smell his cologne, manly and intoxicating.

"Livvie." His baritone voice sent chills down her spine. She turned around to face him, he was close. So much closer that she thought. She smiled up at him, only able to make out the outline of his features.

"Hi." She said softly as she stood on her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hi." He leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers. The kiss, slow and passionate, sending them both into a state of bliss. His tongue grazed her lips and she opened her mouth in kind. Inviting him in. Scotch. He tasted distinctly of scotch and it was a rare thing, him drinking the brown liquid but when he did, oh when he did the taste of him was something she could get addicted to. She moaned into his mouth as the after burn of the liquid imprinted itself on her lips. Bliss at its finest.

"You taste like scotch." She whispered against his lips. He hummed in agreement and pulled back slightly from her embrace.

"I had a somewhat stressful conversation with Cyrus about an hour ago." His tone is light but she knows that he's been under pressure. She knows that she has been a distraction for him, and he for her but their work takes almost twice as long as it used to before their relationship took off. Liv could finish a sketch in less than a day usually, but with Fitz around or even when he wasn't it took her almost three. Her mind would cloud and thoughts of him would fill her brain.

"What are you thinking about?" Fitz whispred in her ear, dragging her out of her thoughts. She smiled a small smile, one that barely reached her eyes.

"I was just thinking that I've been keeping you away from your work. We've both been so caught up in each other and I know how important it is that you finish your book. Maybe we sho-"

"No. We are not taking a break or spending some time apart." He said sternly.

"Fitz?"

"No Olivia. My stress has nothing to do with you-with us. My book is actually almost done so you can stop overthinking." Liv furrowed her brow at his admission.

"Then what is it?" Fitz leaned in and captured her lips softly.

"Nothing that you need to concern yourself with. Everything is fine and now would you please stop worrying and let me get back to sweeping you off of your feet?" His smile was genuine and bright, she couldn't help but smile in return.

"Sweeping me off my feet, huh? I was under the impression that you'd already done that." She said breezily as she moved from his embrace. Fitz chuckled and watched as she seductively swayed her hips as she walked towards the bedroom.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to wash up and change. I've been in this all day. I'm dirty and covered in charcoal and paint, so."

"I love it when you're dirty and covered in paint. It's so sexy." He said as he continued to watch her ass as she walked away.

"Tough. I'm changing. Now if you want to join me…?" She trailed off, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, I'd love to but I have a lovely surprise dinner waiting for the love of my life in the dining room so I need her to hurry up and change." He winked at her as a smile spread across her face. A smile that could light up a room and steal your heart.

"What is it?" She practically squealed.

"You'll find out soon. So hurry up!" With that she scurried to their room and changed. Ten minutes later she was walking out down the hall towards the dining room. There was a soft glow bouncing off the walls, candles.

"Wow." She gasped as she walked into the space. Candles surrounded the dining room on every surface. There was no table in the room, but a bunch of pillows and cushions were laid out on a bed of blankets that had a pick nick basket nestled in the center.

"Do you like it?" Fitz asked as he walked around the corner carrying a bouquet of wild flowers. She smiled brightly and nodded her head in response.

"What's in the basket?"

"Food." Liv rolled her eyes causing Fitz to chuckle.

"I made your favorite. We have broiled lemon and herb chicken, roasted asparagus, orzo pasta with mushrooms, and fried polenta and parmesan cakes." Liv couldn't hide the excitement on her face.

"And for dessert?" Fitz smiled as he leaned into her. His lips were hovering over hers. So very close.

"I was hoping that you would be my dessert." She could still smell the scotch on him and a familiar sensation began to build in her gut. She could feel her knees starting to go weak and she knew that if he kissed her there would be no chance of stopping things from escalating. She licked her lips and he hummed in approval before stepping back and taking her hand.

"C'mon let's eat."

* * *

"Fitz!" She called out as her orgasm washed over her. They'd barely made it through dinner when Olivia moved from her spot on the blanket and straddled Fitz. She tried, oh how she tried to not look at him during dinner. But he was being difficult. Touching her, little touches that would burn into her skin. A graze on her arm, or on her knee. Placing his hand on her exposed thigh as he leaned in to kiss her temple. Licking his lips as he ate, something so natural but so fucking sexy when he did it.

Fitz knew what he was doing. The air was thick with sexual tension, he'd planned it that way. He knew that touching her the way that he was and licking his lips would turn her on. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him but he knew they wouldn't last long. He was right because here he was, head buried between her legs as he lapped up every drop of her juices as she exploded on his tongue. Three times. She'd already had three orgasms and he wasn't anywhere near done with her.

"Fitz, I need you inside of me. Please. Please baby." She was almost desperate. Fitz was a master of oral arts and she could let him stay down there all night, but she needed him deep inside of her. She needed to feel him release. Fitz kissed his way up her naked body as she writhed underneath him.

"You're going to be the death of me, Fitz." She said breathily as she pulled his face to hers, kissing him deeply. She could taste herself on his lips, a heady experience. She nipped at his bottom lip and soothed them with her tongue. A moan escaped her swollen lips when Fitz placed himself at her entrance, playing between her lips. Gliding his shaft easily along her slick heat. Olivia's eyes rolled back as he continuously glided over her clit. She found herself grinding her hips into him, she was so close and every glide of his shaft brought her even closer.

"Fuck, Olivia you're so wet." Fitz managed to grit through his teeth. He needed to be inside of her. He knew that teasing her would turn him on but he was suffering. She was soaked and he could just imagine her pulsing around him. He quickly aligned himself at her entrance and penetrated her swiftly.

"God! Oh fuck!" Liv screamed as she felt him fill her. He was deep. Buried to the hilt and she couldn't control the extreme waves of sensations that were attacking her at once. He'd managed to find her spot over and over again as he slowly moved inside of her. She bit down on his shoulder as she moans increased. He could feel her walls pulsing around him. She clenched her walls and Fitz growled in response. He picked up speed, thrusting wildly into her. Her breath was ragged and her moans were becoming more frequent. She wrapped her legs tightly around him and pulled him closer. Melding their bodies. Fitz devoured her mouth, taking in her moans like they were the most precious thing on earth. Her nails raked down his back and down to his ass. Fitz's powerful thrusts sent her over the edge with a silent scream, her orgasm pulling him over the edge right after her.

They were sweaty and sated as they laid tangled in each other's arms, breath slowly evening out, gentle kisses being pressed into skin. Love.

"Thank you." Liv whispered against his chest. Fitz looked down at her and smiled.

"And what exactly are you thanking me for?" Liv giggled, she knew what he meant. "Well yes, thank you for that. Times four but that's not exactly what I meant. Thank you for loving me. For putting up with my random and with Frankie and Harrison."

"No. Thank you. Harrison and Frankie are more family to me that the actual family that I have. And thank you for loving me. I was so lost before you waltzed into my life and I don't know what I'd do without you." Fitz said and kissed her sweetly. She smiled as he pulled back slightly and stared into her beautiful eyes.

"I love you, Olivia." He smiled as he traced her lips with his thumb.

"I Love you too." She moved to kiss him but he sat up and smiled, a twinkle in his eye.

"What?"

"I forgot I have a chocolate tart in the fridge. What say you to moving this party to the kitchen with the rest of the wine?" Liv smiled and put out a hand for assistance. Fitz grabbed her hand but when her pulled her up he swung her over his shoulder in a fireman's hold and she squealed in delight.

"I get first bite!" She yelled and Fitz smacked her lightly on the ass.

"Anything you want, baby." He chuckled as they made their way to more dessert.

* * *

**I know. I know! Its been forever BUT I did it. I updated. Haha! The happy couple is happy and everything is running smoothly, thus far. Hopefully Cyrus and BJ will leave Fitz alone to be happy with Olivia, but we'll see. Anyway, THANK YOU FOR READING! Xoxo **

**Also, please review :)**


	10. Chapter 10

"Livvie!" Fitz shouted over the blaring music in her studio. Olivia jumped at his voice and turned to look at him.

"Shit, you scared me. Hi." She said somewhat curtly.

"Hi." Fitz smiled, mostly to himself. He knew she hated when he snuck up on her but this time he had good reason, they were going to be late. "You know Frankie is going to kill me when she finds out you were late to your own event because I let you go to the studio today."

"Damn it! I completely forgot." She wined as she put down her paintbrush and wiped her hands on her towel. "Why did you let me paint today?" She huffed.

"Because you were very persuasive this morning and you promised you'd remember." Fitz said as he walked towards her. Liv couldn't help but smile at the memory of the events that had taken place that morning. She had to work some serious magic to get Fitz to agree to let her go to her studio. She smiled wildly at him as he came closer and placed his hands on her cheeks, effectively pulling her closer to him as his lips crashed down onto hers. The kiss was hot and full of passion, something that was not lacking in their relationship. His tongue snaked out and lightly grazed her lips, seeking complete access which was quickly granted. She moaned into his mouth as their tongues dueled, tasting each other as if it had been years since they had last seen each other instead of hours. She wanted to touch him, desperately, but she was covered in paint and he looked good enough to eat in his black tux. She wanted to rip it off of him but they had to go. She whined as she pulled away from him in need of air and a shower.

"I need to get ready." She panted with a wicked smile as she slipped out of his grasp. She turned quickly on her heels and ran towards the shower.

"Hurry up!" He called after her. He heard the shower cut on and watched as her bra and panties flew out of the bathroom. He was tempted, oh so very tempted to jump in the shower with her but he used every bit of his willpower and just sat on the bed as he waited for her.

Not ten minutes later, Liv emerged from the steamy bathroom with her silk robe tied tightly around her waist. "Baby can you do me a favor and see if I have anything to wear in the closet. I think I left a couple of dresses and some shoes in there just in case something like this happened." Fitz got up from his spot on the bed and walked into the enormous closet that had once been filled with clothing and looked through the limited selection. He sifted through the rack and found a black dress that looked very appropriate for the evening. He grabbed two pairs of heels and walked out of the closet.

"How about this?" He said as he walked up to her vanity. She was mostly done with her make- up and her hair was straight so he assumed that was how she was going to wear it. She looked back at his selection and smiled.

"Good choice, baby. I forgot I even had that." She stood as she finished applying her last swipe of mascara and untied her robe, letting it fall to the ground. She turned to him and took the dress from his hands, stepping into it and pulling it up and slipped her arms into the mesh like sleeves. Fitz watched, eyes wide and mouth dry as the dress melded to her body like a second skin. She smiled at him as she took in the look on his face. "Later. And just to keep you on your toes I'm not going to wear any underwear tonight." A groan rippled up from his gut and bubbled out of his mouth causing Liv to giggle. She kissed his bottom lip lightly before turning her back to him.

"Zip me?" She asked. Fitz, barely able to think coherently, stepped forward and started to zip up the dress. He caught a whiff of her, she smelled like honey and roses. His mouth watered and his body started to respond to her. She clouded him. She owned him and his body was under some sort of spell. He couldn't get enough of her. He could hear her breath hitch as a soft "Fitz" escaped her lips. He looked down and saw that he had started to unzip her, his need for her clouding his thoughts and leading him to this moment. His physical actions guided by his need to be inside of her. He moved his hands around her waist and pulled her to him, firmly pressing his growing erection into her back. He used his chin to push her hair to one side using the access to lightly kiss her neck. Liv could feel her knees start to go weak as he found the sensitive spot behind her ear and gently sucked on it. They needed to stop but her will power was just about gone. She wanted him, consequences be damned.

"Frankie is lucky I promised we'd be there on time because, right now, all I want is to rip this dress off of you. She is damn lucky." He whispered in her ear as he pulled away from her just enough to zip her up all the way gaining a frustrated sigh out of her. Fitz chuckled lightly and kissed her neck again for added effect. Olivia's heart was racing and she could feel the moisture that had pooled between her legs. She needed to freshen up a bit before they headed out and he need to get rid of his obvious erection.

"What are you going to do about that?" She said as she moved away from him and back into the bathroom. Fitz looked down and cursed his need for her in this moment.

"I'll be fine. All I need is a glass of bourbon and I should be good." With that he left her to finished getting ready and headed to the kitchen.

By the time they left the studio Fitz's not so little problem had been fixed and they had about twenty minutes to spare to get to the event. The drive over was filled with a comfortable silence and lingering glances. She wondered how he would behave tonight. It was a benefit for kids but only the scholarship winners would be in attendance, everyone else would be much older. Either way he'd have to keep his hands to himself. She'd be taking photos and chatting with the board of directors and trying to get as much money out of her stuck up friends as possible. She couldn't afford to be distracted by him touching her ass or by him burning holes into her skin with his eyes or lingering touches. She knew she couldn't avoid it, but she would do her best.

* * *

The awards dinner went extremely smoothly. Liv gave the opening speech, stating how happy she was to be hosting the event and how proud she was of the arts community for their continued support. Fitz listened as she spoke effortlessly, her Spanish clear and full of life. He couldn't help but be in awe of the creature before him. She lit up the stage as she spoke about the kids and how fundamental the arts were to their education. She congratulated the scholarship winners and their parents on their hard work and thanked everyone again before announcing that dinner would be starting.  
They ate and chatted a bit, Liv got up and mingled while Fitz was cornered by a few of the writers who were invited to the event.

They had him surrounded when she made her way back over to the table. "Tomly, Anna, Raul. It's great to see you again." Liv said as she snuck into the middle of the circle, grabbing his hand and interlacing their fingers.

"Olivia you didn't tell me you were dating Fitzgerald Grant. Shame on you." Anna said with a wink. Liv smiled and shook her head at her friend.

"I didn't think I needed to announce it. But yes I am." Liv smiled at him.

"Well Olivia you've done it again." Tomly said as he looked around. "There are going to be some fabulous donations tonight. I can feel it."

"Yes I agree completely. Anytime you throw an event I loose so much money. You have a knack for getting large sums of money out of us." Raul chuckled as the host of the night asked everyone to take their seats.

"You left me." He whispered into her ear as they sat at their table. "I don't like it when you do that."

"I had to get some work done. Get loads of money out of a lot of these people. I couldn't do that with you distracting me." Liv said quietly, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. Fitz chuckled to himself and placed his hand on her knee under the table.

"You have no idea how much of a distraction I can be." He whispered gruffly into her ear as he slowly trailed his hand up her thigh, right at the hem of her dress. Her breath hitched as he played with thin fabric, slowly inching it up to gain more access. She needed him to stop but she wanted him to keep going, to seek refuge in her depths. She had to take a deep and somewhat steeling breath before placing her hand over his, removing it swiftly before he reached his destination.

"You've made your point." She said shakily and Fitz couldn't help the cocky smile that spread across his face. She rolled her eyes at him and returned her attention to the stage where the scholarship winners were coming up to receive their awards. The rest of the evening went smoothly as they watched the scholarship winners discuss their works. Some read snippets of the short stories or novels they'd written, others spoke about the inspiration for their works which were located in the gallery off of the ballroom in which everyone involved in the event would be walking through after the ceremony, and the musical scholarship winners put together a few musical numbers for the attendees to dance to.

When the music started Fitz offered her his hand and she took it willingly. He led them to the center of the dance floor and pulled her close, Liv melding to his body instantly and resting her head on his shoulder as the melodic tune played in the background. Olivia was lost in the sound of his heart beat and the rise and fall of his chest that she almost didn't hear him whisper "I love you" in her ear. She pulled back and gazed into his eyes, deep and filled with eternal love. Her heart skipped a beat as he pierced through her, seeing into her soul. He always had the ability to do that, to see all of her. She placed her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her lips. The kiss was short and somewhat tame for them, but it was filled with everything she felt for him. The love, the hope, the passion. It was a kiss of promise.

"Well if it isn't the two love birds." Frankie said as she walked up behind them. Liv smiled and turned around to hug her sister.

"Where's Harrison?" Liv asked as she pulled away.

"He's roaming around in the gallery. I came to find you two and show you some of the amazing pieces we chose. Liv you're going to love them." Frankie lit up. She may not have been born with the same artistic touch as Olivia but she was just as enthusiastic about artwork. Liv loved that her sister was just as invested as she was, it made planning these events that much easier when your co-chair had the same vision.

Frankie led them to the gallery and Liv couldn't help but gasp in awe. The gallery was beautifully done and the artwork was breathtaking. She loved seeing the work of young artists and the raw talent they possessed was something she yearned to have again. They always had so much more to offer. Their ignorance to the harsher things in the world made their art so much more innocent. Fitz watched as Liv walked around, reading the descriptions of the works and staring at them, taking them in, burning them to memory. He watched as the love of his life pressed her hand to her heart and shed a tear at each of the paintings as if they were a part of her. As if they were her every emotion exposed. He walked over to her after they made it all the way through and offered her a glass of wine that he'd grabbed for her at the open bar in the corner. She took it willingly.

"Thank you." She said as she wiped away the remnants of her tears. Fitz wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his side.

"Anything for you." He pressed a soft kiss into her temple and rubbed small circles into her lower back as she took a few sips of her wine. "Feeling better?" He asked and turned her to face him. She smiled up at him and nodded her head yes. Frankie, who had run off to locate Harrison, returned to find a tear stained Liv with a glass of wine.

"What's up with her?" She asked, eyeing Liv suspiciously. Liv laughed a little at herself and cleared her throat.

"I was just crying over all of this beautiful art. Nothing out of the ordinary." Frankie and Harrison smiled and nodded to Fitz who had done well by bringing her a glass of wine.

"I should have known that would happen. Anytime she sees art from kids, any age, she cries. It could be a toddler's finger painting and she'd have the same reaction." Frankie chuckled and Liv playfully swatted her arm.

"Shut up, Frankie." Liv said with a smile. She looked over to Harrison who hadn't said a word and noticed that he seemed off. He would smile but it wouldn't reach his eyes. She needed to talk to him.

"Hey Harrison, can you come with me for a second. I wanna show you something that I know you'll love." Fitz dropped his arm from her waist and pouted. "You're leaving me again?"

"Oh stop that! I'll be back before you know it." She kissed him quickly before linking arms with her best friend. "Frankie, make sure he doesn't get into trouble." She called over her shoulder. Frankie smiled up at Fitz and linked arms with him.

"Looks like you're my date for the time being." Fitz smiled at her and led her off into the crowd.

* * *

"So, you've been awfully quiet. Something bothering you?" Liv leaned into him, nudging him slightly. He smiled his first real smile all night and that made Liv feel a little better.

"You always know when something's up." He said quietly.

"Yes I do. That's what best friends are for. Now spill it. Did my sister do something wrong? Did you do something wrong?"

"No it's nothing like that, well not really. I mean I think I just… I don't know."

"Harrison?"

"It's really nothing. It's just that Frankie and I were talking and we got to the topic of family and what would happen if we got married."

"Marriage? Harrison that's great!"

"Yeah it is. But I think I might have messed up."

"What do you- wait. No! Harrison you've been dating for less than a month! You did not…"

"Ask her to marry me? Yep. I did." He said as he downed the rest of his bourbon. Liv was in a state of shock as she stared at her best friend. "No! No Liv. I just- ever since we talked about the future she has been acting like I asked her to marry me. No, more like I'ma convicted felon and I was locked up for murder. She's barely talking to me." Liv could have killed Harrison for being such an ass.

"What is wrong with you? Scratch that I already know what's wrong with you." Harrison sighed and pulled Liv over to a quiet corner. "Have tried to talk to her? Really talk to her?"

"Yes. I even asked her if we could talk tonight after the event."

"And what did she say?"

"She didn't say anything! She just stared at me for a few seconds then walked away. I wanted to go after her but I know Frankie, if I push her too hard she'll run away."

"Yeah you've got that right. We Pope women have a knack for that. When did you ask her?"

"When we were alone in the gallery. Liv, I don't want her to run. I love her but I can't take it back and I'm not taking it off the table. I wanna marry her someday but I need to know she's not completely freaked. Can you talk to her?"

"Harrison I…"

"Please, Liv. I know you don't want to be involved but I need you to at least talk to her. Please? Please, please, please…"

"Okay! God I'll talk to her. You owe me!" Liv huffed. Harrison smiled one of his thousand watt smiles and Liv couldn't help but match it. She was a sucker for love stories and she really wanted things to work out with them.

"Thank you! I love you." He said as he kissed her on the cheek.

"Yeah, I love you too. Now let's get back before Fitz comes looking for us."

"He's really the jealous type." Harrison said as he pulled her into his side, both of them snaking an arm around each other's back. Liv giggled and nodded her head.

"That he is."

* * *

"So what were you and Harrison off talking about?" It was almost midnight by the time they got home and as soon as they walked through the door they made a b-line to the kitchen. The event was amazing and the food was great but the portions were small. They had partaken in some of the hors d'oeuvres that were offered during the gala but those were only partially filling. So there they were, Liv still in her dress sitting on the counter eating off of the meat and cheese tray that they always purchased at the butchers down the street and Fitz still in his tux with his shirt untucked and tie undone eating leftover pasta and the rest of the roasted chicken they'd made last night for dinner along with a bottle of wine.

"Harrison is freaked because he asked Frankie to marry him and she said no." She said somewhat nonchalantly, being that she was more focused on pouring another glass of wine, while Fitz nearly chocked on his past.

"What? They've only been going out for like a month! Maybe even less than that!" He practically yelled.

"That's what I told him. And she pulled a typical Frankie and just walked away. I'm supposed to be talking to her but I don't know what to say." She paused for a moment and smiled before continuing. "I'm kidding." Fitz stared at her for a moment, gathering his thoughts, before he grabbed a towel that was on the counter and threw it at her. She caught it and laughed.

"You're an evil little woman." He said with a shake of his head. He couldn't believe she would joke about that.

"I'm you're evil little woman." She said with a mischievous smile. "But he is very much freaked out because he asked Frankie about the possibility of marriage, way down the line, and she freaked. She's not one for long term all in relationships and he knows that. I guess he assumed since it was him, since they have a long history, that things would be different. I'm supposed to talk to her, tomorrow I guess. I don't know what to tell her."

"Well I'm sure he didn't ask her about it as a joke so you'll tell her that he loves her and wants to marry her one day. You'll tell her that she needs to talk to him. Really talk to him and that it's okay to be scared. You'll be the amazing person and sister that you are and you'll be great. You'll help your sister not pull a "typical Frankie"" He said as he moved to stand in front of her. She pulled up her dress some, just enough to allow her legs to open so that he could stand between them. Second nature.

"Okay, I'll talk to her tomorrow." She smiled at him as she hooked her legs around him.

"Have I told you how beautiful you are?" He asked as he lightly slid his calloused hands up and down her exposed thighs. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in closer to him, her lips barely touching his.

"Mhmmmmm." She hummed as she kissed him lightly. "Have I told you how much I love you?" She whispered against his lips.

"No." He smiled and moved his hands to her hips, gripping them firmly and pulling her flush against him. She gasped at the suddenness of his movement but she instinctually ground herself into him. Fitz growled in response and captured her lips again. The kiss was fevered and slow. Fitz took his time as he tasted her lips, soft and full. She purred when his tongue snaked out to seek access to her mouth. When he was granted entry a soft moan escaped from her lips. She tasted of wine, woodsy and dark. When his tongue found hers, Liv couldn't help grind deeper into his growing erection. Her hands shot up to his hair, tugging and pulling at the curls at the nape of his neck.

"Fitz" Liv barely rasped out as he tugged at her bottom lip and captured it between his teeth then soothing the sting with his tongue.

"Livvie." He said as he pulled back from her slightly. His hands roamed over her as he took in her body, running his hands over the curve of her breasts sending a shiver down her spine. He worshiped her. Her body was his sanctuary. The heat of her skin, the rise and fall of her chest, the beat of her heart, everything he needed in life he found in this amazing woman. He didn't realize it but he'd been staring at her. His eyes locked on hers as if he was looking onto her soul.

"Baby?" She smiled at him, her eyes glistening and full of love. He loved the look in her eyes. It wasn't there when they'd first met. Her eyes were sad and a dull light shined behind a cloud of darkness but now, now they were bright, loving and full of happiness. She stroked his face, a light stubble there that she found incredibly sexy. He smiled back at her, a smile so bright and cheesy that she couldn't help but giggle.

"Hi." She said as she moved her hands through his hair lovingly.

"Hi." His voice was heavy and raspy. She loved it, the thing his voice did when he needed her. She loved him.

"I love you." She said as started peppering kisses along his jawline and down his neck. She brought her hands to his chest and started undoing the buttons on his shirt. His heart racing like it was their first time. She felt it, his racing heartbeat, and she placed a gentle kiss over his heart. In that moment he could have died the happiest man in the world. She kissed her way down his chest, covering every inch of skin that she could possibly reach, His breath hitched when she bit him lightly above his navel. She smiled against his skin and kissed the spot before leaning back up to meet him in a searing kiss. Her hands found their way to his pants as she undid his belt stealthily. Within seconds his pants and boxer briefs were sliding down his body.

"I need you. I need to be inside of you." His voice was raspy and his eyes clouded. Her small hand was stroking his length, the tug and pull causing his pupils to dilate. His words made her stomach clench and she could feel herself becoming even more aroused. She stoked him over and over, feeling his erection harden even more under her touch. She moaned at the feel of him in her hand and then used her thumb, sweeping it over his head, circling his tip and swiping away his essence. Fitz could barely contain himself. He moved her hand back to the counter top before pulling her dress up, exposing her to him. He took her legs from around him and placed them over his shoulders. Liv bit her bottom lip in anticipation, throbbing at the thought of him being inside of her.

Slowly he massaged himself along her slick folds. His hard member grazing over her clit multiple times causing her body to shiver. Liv couldn't take much more of his sweet torture. She moved her hips in rhythm with his, begging for him to put her out of her misery.

"God." He growled as he placed himself at her entrance. Slowly, he pushed himself inside of her and in that moment Olivia didn't think she would ever be able to breathe again. "You're so wet baby." All Olivia could do was moan in response. He felt so damn good and the angle she was at only added to the immense pleasure that he was giving her as he buried himself deep inside of her. His movements were calculated and measured. He placed his hands firmly on her hips, preventing her from much movement, as he thrust. Each time he would pull out of her almost completely before powerfully thrusting into her. Sweet torture.

"Faster" she gasped. "Ple-please." She could barely focus. She wanted him to bring her to release. With a cocky smile he leaned forward causing her to lay back on her elbows. "I want you to come for me." He whispered as he accelerated his movements. Liv let out a beep guttural moan as she let the sensations forming deep in her body take over. Fitz removed one of his hands from her hip and placed it at the back of her neck, bringing her face to him. He kissed her passionately, tongues dueling for dominance as he powered into her. She could barely breathe, system overload causing her take short breaths. She pulled away from his lips moaning his name over and over as she felt her orgasm build. She was so close and so was he. He could feel her walls starting to clamp down on him. She was going to pull him over with her and he wanted nothing more than that. To hit nirvana with this woman that was sent to him by God. He swiveled his hips deliciously and Olivia called his name as she fell over the edge. Her walls clamped around his length but he didn't stop, riding out her orgasm and using it to bring him to completion. He buried his head in the crook of her neck as he spilled his seed inside of her, over and over. His guttural moans loud and animalistic.

* * *

An hour and a half later they were freshly showered and cuddled together in bed. Liv, wearing one of his shirts and nothing else, had her body thrown over his. Her head resting on his chest as she listened to his heartbeat. Fitz had his arms wrapped tightly around her as he rubbed loving circles into her back causing sleep to fall over her easily. She was drifting in and out when she heard him say something. She could barely make it out. Assuming it was her imagination she closed her eyes again.

"Livvie" Fitz whispered again. She only shifted in response and he knew she was out. He sighed and placed a sweet kiss in her hair. "I love you so much. I can't breathe without you, baby. You are my air, my sun, my stars, my reason for living and I can't imagine my life without you. I know it's still early in our relationship but I can't see myself with anyone else. You saved me. I am eternally thankful for that and if you'll let me I would love to spend the rest of my life trying to repay you. Please say that you will."

He sighed again, feeling somewhat more relaxed now that he'd said what was on his mind, even if Olivia didn't hear him. He nuzzled his nose into her hair, taking in the scent of her freshly washed hair. Coconuts and mango. A scent that would forever remind him of her. He closed his eyes and within moments he was sleep.

Hours later Fitz woke up to find that he was alone. Olivia's side of the bed cold. It was dark out but the morning sky was starting to creep in, early morning. He looked at the clock that read 5a.m. He looked around the room for her but she was gone.

"Olivia?" He called out and received nothing in response. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Throwing on a pair of boxers he walked out of their bedroom in search of her. Slowly making his way down the stairs he saw that all of the lights were off. He walked around searching for her in the spacious house but she was nowhere to be seen. He started to panic, she never left in the middle of the night and if she had she would have at least left a note. He was about to run upstairs to grab his phone when he saw a figure standing right outside of the sliding glass doors. He knew it was her and instantly relaxed.

"Baby it's early." He said as he opened the door and walked out to where she was standing. "I didn't know where you were. I was starting to worry." He said as he wrapped his arms around her waist."

"I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to wake you." She leaned into him, the heat of his body soothing her.

"Did you have another nightmare?" He asked as he kissed her neck sweetly. She smiled and nodded her head "no". She took a deep breath and turned around in his arms, her eyes glistening even in the dark and he couldn't help but smile.

"Hi, beautiful" He said as he kissed her sweetly.

"Hi." She smiled against his lips and kissed him again before pulling away from him looking him directly in the eyes. She analyzed him, looking deeply into his soul, seeing him. Fitz felt exposed and vulnerable, as if she could see everything he'd been thinking.

"What?" He asked, a shy smile on his lips.

"Nothing I just- I love you and I know you love me too. I know were meant to be together and that is amazing. That is exciting and fulfilling and beautiful. You rescued my heart and I cannot think of spending my life with someone else." Her doe eyes started to fill with tears. Fitz placed his palm on her cheek and she leaned into his touch.

"I heard what you said." She mumbled as she kissed his wrist.

"What?" He asked, his voice cracking.

"I heard what you said in bed. You thought I was asleep but I wasn't and I heard you. I wanted to respond, I wanted to say something but I couldn't and it wasn't fair to you. I couldn't sleep because I was besting myself up. Why didn't I say anything? I kept asking myself over and over again. And then I figured it out. It's because I couldn't take it if you didn't mean it. So if you don't mean it just take it back. Take it back now and we can put it on the back burner until the time is right-" She was barely breathing. He'd tried to get her attention a number of times. He tried to tell her that he meant it but she wouldn't listen. Tears were streaming down her face and he tried to wipe them away as fast as he could but she was panicking.

"Olivia!" he practically yelled, startling her quiet. She looked down at her hands which were on his chest. He took a breath and moved the hand that was still placed on her cheek to cup her chin. He lifted her head gently. She had her eyes closed as if she couldn't let him see the panic, the sheer terror of him not actually wanting her. He couldn't understand it, how she was so strong yet so vulnerable. He gently lowered his lips to hers, kissing her with all the love he had. Forcing her to feel everything that she thought wasn't he removed his lips from hers, her eyes opened with tears still threatening to spill over.

"Olivia Pope you cannot think that I would ever do that to you. That I would say those thing and not mean them. I love you. I am so in love with you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You are my world and you've helped me finally be able to heal. Like I said, I know we've only been together for a few months but we belong to each other. There's no one else for me and I would be stupid to let you go. So, marry me. Marry me, Olivia Pope."

* * *

**BLAH! Hey guys! What's up? How's everyone doing? I know there are many wildfires growing throughout the fandom so I decided to stop being lazy and get over my writers block. Took me a minute and a few re-writes but I finally offered up something that I believe to be semi readable. **

**How did you like it? I really didn't edit this much but I'll go back and fix things if anything major stands out for anyone. So let me know. **

**ANYWAY! Please review and again, I know I don't update regularly but I always try to deliver when I do. Thank you so much for sticking with me through good chapters and bad. Xoxo **

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING!**

**Well except for Frankie. She's mine :)**


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